Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage

Another great recipe for serving to guests; it looks nice and is easy to make.  And, it is great for freezer cooking!  I tend to do a double batch simply because I really like it.  When I do that, we have four pans of stuffed shells - one for right then, and three for the coming weeks. 

Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage

Adapted from: http://www.myrecipes.com/

Ingredients:
1 lb. jumbo shells
1 12 oz. container cottage cheese
1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
1 cup (4 oz.) asiago cheese, shredded
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbls. fresh chives
2 Tbls. fresh parsley
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt/pepper to taste
1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of liquid
4 cups marinara sauce (I like Newman's Own brand)
1 lb. Italian sausage, browned
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Cook shells according to package directions, adding a dash of olive oil to the water to prevent the shells from sticking.  Rinse the shells well and set them out on wax paper to dry.

Combine ricotta cheese and cottage cheese in a food processor or blend and combine until smooth.  Add the asiago cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, chives, garlic, spinach, and salt/pepper.

Fill each shell with the cheese mixture.  Top with marinara sauce combined with browned Italian sausage.  Finish with mozzarella cheese on top. 

If freezer cooking, freeze now. 

To serve, bake at 375 degrees covered for approximately 70 minutes, uncovering in the last 5 minutes allowing top to brown a little.