Stuffed Spinach Pasta Shells with or without Italian Sausage

This dish can be prepared, cooked, and ready to serve 8 to 10 people in about an hour to a hour and fifteen minutes. Less time is needed if made ahead. For a family of four simply cut the recipe in half.

Once the pasta shells are prepared and stuffed, they can be packaged and frozen for up to two months to thaw, top*, and bake at a later date.

• If frozen with the sauce and toppings already in place the liquid content of the sauce tends to separate out so it is better to wait until you are ready to bake to add the marinara — you can make the marinara fresh when ready to bake — or make it ahead and freeze it separately so you can give it a good stir before topping the dish with it.

If desired, you can brown Italian sausage in a skillet, drain it, and sprinkle over top of the already baked dish just prior to serving.

It can also be made and baked the day before and simply reheated in the oven before serving. Or, it can be prepared up to four days ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake.

Can be served with just a simple side salad tossed with an Italian vinaigrette dressing.

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SEASONING TIPS:
You can use fresh or dried herbs in most recipes. Typically, dried herbs are more potent (although there are exceptions) than fresh so you need about a third the amount of dried herbs than if using fresh. If using fresh herbs you will usually need three times more.

Some dried herbs become weaker while others become more potent with age.

Remember to start with the smallest recommended amount and then just add more to taste since you can always add more but can never remove once combined in a recipe. If you find the smallest amount is more potent than you prefer make a note of it and the next time you make the recipe you can use less.

Taste, taste, taste! If raw meat is involved, after seasoning the meat simply cook a small test amount in a skillet on the stove top to be able to taste test safely and repeat until you have made the necessary adjustments.

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Note: If desired, you can replace the diced tomatoes with Italian seasoned stewed tomatoes and adjust the added seasonings to taste for the recipe.

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Stuffed Spinach Pasta Shells with or without Italian Sausage

Marinara:
2 to 3 finely minced garlic cloves (or about 1/4 tsp. to 1 tsp. garlic powder), to taste
1 Tbsp. dried oregano (or 3 Tbsp. fresh)
2 tsp dried parsley (or 1/3 cup fresh chopped)
1 Tbsp. onion powder (or 1/2 to 2/3 cup fresh minced)
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) tomato sauce
2 small cans (6 ounces each) tomato paste
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Pasta:
24 jumbo pasta shells
8 ounces cream cheese
12 ounces ricotta cheese
12 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, pat dry

Toppings:
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded or granulated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded or granulated Romano cheese
1/2 cup sliced black olives, drained
Optional: 1 lb. ground Italian sausage

Prepare the marinara sauce: Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent (appear almost see through). Place everything into a food processor (or use a blender or a hand held emulsifier) to puree until smooth. Set aside.

Boil the pasta shells al dente for only 9 minutes, rinse, drain, and set aside to cool.

Note: You do not want to boil the pasta for the usual full 12 minutes since they are going to cook even further in the oven to avoid having over cooked, limp, falling apart shells.

Position your oven racks. Most ovens have four slots in which to place two or three racks; use the two center slots. If your oven only has three positions it will be better to bake the two dishes separately so allow yourself an additional twenty to twenty five minutes. You can also prepare the dishes up to four days ahead, refrigerate, and bake one at time on just the center rack if preferred.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

Very lightly spray oil two large 13 x 9 x 2 inch casserole baking dishes. Spoon a very thin layer of marinara onto the bottom of each dish. Set aside.

Stir together ricotta and cream cheeses and spinach and carefully stuff into cooled shells using a teaspoon.

Place a dozen stuffed shells with opening facing up into each of the casserole dishes in a single layer.

Cover each with the remaining marinara.

Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella over top each dish. Also top each with half of the Parmesan and Romano cheeses. Sprinkle half of the black olives on top of each dish.

Bake, covered with foil, in preheated 350 F degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Note: To save time you can bake both dishes at the same time but be sure half way through the bake to switch them from the upper and lower center racks to ensure even baking. You can also prepare the dishes up to four days before, refrigerate, and bake one at time on just the center rack if preferred.

Poke holes in the foil (with steak knife, fork, or skewer, etc.) to allow steam to escape for 5 minutes before carefully removing. Then allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes more, uncovered, before serving.

If desired, brown 1 lb. ground Italian sausage in a skillet, drain, and sprinkle half over top each fully baked dish just before serving.

Note: If watching calories may substitute cottage cheese for the ricotta cheese.

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