Emily's Stuffed Shells

I knew I’d make friends in college, but I never could have guessed the girl living next door in the dorms would end up being one of the most important gals in my life. Even though we’re now miles apart, Emily and I have grown up together. Our cooking has evolved from pasta + sauce to creations over a campfire on a backpacking trip to simple recipes we can get on the table for our families of five. Emily regularly meets with some girlfriends to exchange freezer meals—a genius idea—and there’s one meal that’s hands down Emily’s go-to: stuffed shells. Thanks for passing this recipe on to me, Em! It’s a staple at our house now, too.

EMILY’S STUFFED SHELLS
(Makes a wonderful freezer meal!)

NOTE: This recipe tends to make more than one full 9 x 13 baking dish, so I often utilize another smaller casserole dish for the extras, or I try and shove as many as I can in the large dish (just being honest!).

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground Italian sausage (I like to use chicken Italian sausage)
1 16-oz package jumbo pasta shells
1 15-oz container ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¾ cup Parmesan, grated or shredded
1 24-oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce
~4 cups fresh spinach, chopped or 1 16-oz bag frozen chopped spinach

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet over medium heat, brown and crumble sausage. Transfer sausage to a paper towel to drain fat. In the same skillet, add spinach and cook over medium until wilted.

Cook the shells according to package instructions. (You don’t want to overcook the shells as you will bake them, also.) Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta, about ⅔ of the mozzarella and half of the Parmesan. Add eggs, oregano, garlic, and a couple grinds of fresh pepper, if desired. Stir in the meat and spinach.

Pour the entire jar of sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish. Fill shells one by one with a scoop of the cheese-meat-spinach mixture. Line the dish with the shells. Once the casserole is full, top with the remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes before enjoying!