Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Shells
When you want something warm and satisfying that is also a lot of work
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Italian sausage (mild or hot, your choice)
- 1 med onion (finely chopped)
- 1 med bell pepper (finely chopped)
- 6 oz. jumbo pasta shells (18 exactly)
- 4 tsp chopped garlic (~3-4 cloves)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp fennel seed (lightly crushed)
- 1 8 oz can mushrooms (drained, but reserve the liquid)
- 1 24 oz. jar pasta sauce
- 8 oz. mozzarella cheese (shredded, divided (1½ cups + ½ cup))
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prepare the shells: Bring a large pot of water with a lid to a boil. Add the shells, stir, and replace the lid. When the water returns to a full rolling boil, stir it again to make sure the pasta isn't sticking together, put the lid back on, and take it off the heat. Allow it to sit for 20 minutes without removing the lid. After 20 minutes, drain the pasta, ensuring you get all the water out of it. Leave it in a colander, covered to ensure it doesn't dry out.
- In a large pan, fry the sausage until it is crumbled and fully cooked.
- Add the bell pepper and onion and sauté until they are both tender, approximately 10 minutes.
- Add the Italian seasoning, fennel seed, and garlic, and sauté for a few minutes more, allowing them to bloom in the fat from the sausage.
- Add the liquid from the mushrooms, and continue to cook until it has mostly evaporated. Place the filling in a bowl and allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Finish the filling: Add the mushrooms, one cup of the pasta sauce, the cottage cheese, ½ cup of Parmesan cheese, and 1½ cups (6 ounces) of the mozzarella cheese to the filling and mix well.
- Spoon ½ cup of pasta sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan and spread it evenly.
- Fill each shell with a generous amount of the filling and set it in the baking pan. Continue until all the shells have been filled.
- If you have any extra filling, tuck it into any empty spaces in between shells.
- Pour the rest of the pasta sauce over the shells and spread it out evenly.
- Sprinkle the ½ cup mozzarella cheese over the pasta sauce, then sprinkle the 2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese over everything.
- Cover with foil, and bake in a 350℉ (180 ℃) oven for thirty minutes or until the cheese is melted and the temperature of the filling is 165 ℉ (75 ℃). Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
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