Sausage-Stuffed Shells Recipe

By ezunich

Ingredients

• 1 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 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

Details

Servings 2
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 45mins
Adapted from tasteofhome.com

Preparation

Step 1

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.

Originally published as Sausage-Stuffed Shells in Cooking for 2
Spring 2006, p35