Stuffed Shells W/ Spinach and Sausage if You Hate Ricotta Cheese
- 16 ounces cottage cheese
- 1 lb italian sweet sausage or 1 lb italian hot sausage, whichever you prefer
- 1 -2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced, You determine the size, based on how much you like onion, I used one very large one
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped. Again, use your own criteria to taste
- 12 ounces Baby Spinach
- 28 ounces pasta sauce
- 1 lb jumbo pasta shells
- parmesan cheese, fresh grated
- nonstick cooking spray
- Prepare the cottage cheese.
- Very early in the day, start the cheese to drain in a sieve.
- Use fat-free is it makes you feel better.
- If you don't mind ricotta, then use it, by all means.
- (If you use ricotta, go directly to pre-heating oven.)
- At first, a lot of whey will drain.
- But when it look like that's it, unfortunately, it's not.
- Every hour or so, mix the cheese with a spoon and slightly press against the sieve.
- When it looks pretty dry, line a bowl with a paper towel, and turn out.
- At this point, you can refrigerate until the next day, or continue.
- Pre-heat oven to 350F.
- Cook shells in boiling water 5 minutes, only.
- You want them still pretty firm, so they don't lose their shape and makes them easier to stuff.
- Drain and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle.
- Saute sausage at med-hot in a large saute pan until no pink remains.
- Be sure sausage is finely sauted, you don't want any large clumps.
- Drain and wipe pan free of grease.
- Add oil to pan, amount depending on how large your onion is, and saute onion until translucent.
- Add chopped garlic and saute 1-2 minutes, again using your own amount.
- We happen to like garlic, A LOT.
- Be careful not to brown the garlic.
- In same pan, add the spinach.
- If using fresh, keep turning until just wilted, chopping at same time.
- If using frozen, drain and squeeze dry.
- Add sausage and cottage cheese back to pan.
- Mix and set aside to cool slightly.
- Spray a 10"x13" baking pan with non-stick spray.
- Spread about 1 cup sauce on bottom of pan.
- Fill each shell with mixture, placing in pan.
- Don't worry if they scoot around.
- They'll all bunch up by the time you are done.
- Spoon the sauce over each individual shell.
- I use a regular soup spoon.
- When each shell is sauced, repeat until all sauce is used.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with non-stick aluminum foil or spray with non-stick spray.
- Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
- Serve with a nice green salad and garlic bread.
- Sit back and take your bows.
cottage cheese, italian sweet sausage, olive oil, yellow onion, garlic, spinach, pasta sauce, jumbo pasta shells, parmesan cheese, nonstick cooking spray
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/stuffed-shells-w-spinach-and-sausage-if-you-hate-ricotta-cheese-308591 (may not work)