The filling for these stuffed shells are not too gooey or soft, so not only do they make for an excellent dinner served with a salad on the side, they double as finger food for your next party. Substitute pork sausage for chicken sausage, just add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan before adding the chicken sausage so it does not stick to the pan.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients
- 16-18 jumbo pasta shells
- 1 pound fresh pork sausage links, casing removed
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeeze dry
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozarella cheese
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and fill a large bowl with cold water and ice, set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook according to package directions. Drain well then add to ice water until ready to stuff.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork sausage then use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage, cook 5-6 minutes until browned.
- Add garlic and cook 30 seconds then add tomatoes and spinach; cook 1 minute.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in ricotta cheese.
- Using a spoon, fill pasta shells with pork filling and arrange in a baking dish (9-inch x 9-inch baking dish works well). Sprinkle tops with shredded cheese then bake in the oven 25-30 minutes until cheese has melted and tips of shells begin to crisp and brown.
