Italian Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells

Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Prepare shells according to package instructions and cook till al dente. Drain, drizzle with a bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking, and set aside.

In a large saucepan brown the sausage and cook until completely cooked through. Drain fat and then fold in the ricotta, Parmesan, spinach and garlic powder. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, whisk together the crushed tomatoes and pesto—seriously, this is way better than any jarred sauce you can buy!

To assemble, spoon a little bit of the sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Stuff each shell with 1-2 tablespoons of the sausage filling and place open-side-up in the pan. You may have some filling leftover (unless you’re me in which case you won’t, because you ate it all). Top the shells with the remaining tomato sauce, then sprinkle with mozzarella.

Bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes, then broil until cheese is brown and bubbly.