Stuffed Shells with Spicy Sausage and Ricotta

One of my favorite types of pasta is anything involving ricotta- manicotti, lasagna, ravioli, stuffed shells, unmatched to most pasta dishes for me. This recipe for stuffed shells with sausage and ricotta is so simple and freezes amazingly, broken into 2 pans, feeding 4 adults per pan, OR feeding 8 for one large pan.

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Stuffed Shells with Spicy Italian Sausage and Ricotta

Yield: 2 pans for 4 or 1 large pan for 8

Ingredients

• 1 lb spicy Italian sausage (can sub for mild)
• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, separated
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil
• 1 egg
• 32 oz Marinara Sauce, homemade or your favorite jarred sauce
• 12 oz jumbo shell pasta
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350.
2. In a non-stick pan cook sausage, breaking up into small pieces. Drain from fat.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook about 5 minutes to soften/become pliable. You do not want to fully cook these shells, as they will turn to mush when you go to bake them if overcooked. Drain from water and run cool water over the shells to stop cooking and to keep from sticking.
4. Split the sausage in half. In one bowl, add half the sausage and mix with the entire jar of marinara. In the second bowl add other half of sausage, ricotta, garlic, basil, parsley, egg and 1 cup mozzarella. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Mix the ricotta mixture thoroughly to combine.
5. In a large baking dish (if you're cooking for 8) or two medium baking dishes (if you're cooking for 4) layer 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan, or 1/2 cup if you're cooking 2 pans.
6. Inside each shell, add 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture and place shells on top of the sauce in the dish. Layer the rest of the sauce on the top of the shells. Finish with the second cup of mozzarella.
7. Cover with foil and bake in pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes, until bubbly and cheese has melted. Let rest for 5-10 minutes and enjoy with a big piece of garlic bread!