Sausage-Stuffed Shells
Cooking for 2
- try a FREE ISSUE today!
“I wanted to make manicotti one day but was out of the noodles,” says Lori Daniels of Beverly, West Virginia. “So I came up with this recipe, using jumbo shells instead. They were much easier to work with.”
SERVINGS: 2
CATEGORY: Main Dish
METHOD: Baked
TIME: Prep: 25 min. Bake: 20 min.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 pound bulk Italian sausage
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/3 cup 4% cottage cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons beaten egg
- 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
- 6 jumbo pasta shells, cooked and drained
- Grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Directions:
In a saucepan, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Set half of the sausage aside for filling. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, brown sugar and Italian seasoning to sausage in pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a bowl, combine the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, egg, parsley and reserved sausage. Stuff into shells. Spread 1/4 cup meat sauce in an ungreased 1-qt. shallow baking dish. Place stuffed shells in dish; drizzle with remaining meat sauce.
Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan if desired. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until filling reaches 160°. Yield: 2 servings.