Saw it. Pinned it. Did it. Stuffed Shells.

Hello!  It's Thursday, I'm wearing a lovely new shirt that I got for a super awesome price, it's almost Friday, and all is right in the world.

Well on Monday I talked about how I made Sausage and Spinach stuffed shells for Vinnie's mom and her boyfriend when they came over for dinner Sunday night and today I will be sharing that wonderful recipe.  

I know last Thursday I linked up with Katie and Steph and shared a couple of recipes so it's really lame that I'm linking up and sharing another recipe but, in my defense, I have been quite busy this week and have not had time to partake in any cute crafty nights.  So, hopefully next week I have a better post for this link-up but for today this is going to have to do.

Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells

Original Source

 

 

 

Ingredients:
1 12-oz. package jumbo pasta shells
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 15-oz. container ricotta cheese
6-7 oz. fresh spinach, chopped OR 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 28-oz. can chopped tomatoes with herbs, including the liquid

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook pasta shells according to package directions.  Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the sausage to the pan, breaking it into smaller pieces as it cooks.  Cook until the sausage is completely cooked through and no pink remains, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Remove from the heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg, ricotta, spinach, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, basil, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper.  Stir together to combine.  Add the cooked sausage mixture to the bowl and stir until evenly mixed.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Spread a thin layer of the chopped tomatoes in the baking dishes (either three 8×8″ pans, or one 9×13″ and one 8×8″).  Stuff each shell with some of the sausage and cheese mixture, and arrange in the baking dishes, open side up.  Spread the remaining tomatoes over the top of the pasta shells.

Cover the pans with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbling.  Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.  Bake, uncovered, for 10 more minutes. 

I pretty much followed this recipe verbatim but I didn't really measure out some of the ingredients (I always end up doing this).  It was very time consuming but turned out really well and everyone thought it was delicious.  I will definitely make this meal again sometime!

Obviously I almost forgot to take a picture of my finished product but then remembered after already taking several bites out of it.  Oh well!  Yum!

In other news, Vinnie and I went to see 'Flight' (the new Denzel Washington movie) last night and I have to say I was actually pretty disappointed.  I love Denzel and have always thought that he can't make a bad movie, but this one was really long and I found myself thinking about other things (like sleeping) at some points.  I'm not saying it was a bad movie but I was expecting better.  

Hope you all have a good Thursday!  I'll be stuck working all night :( BOOO!

XO. Tarah