Italian Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells + GLAD Freezerware

Man alive have I got a super simple and ridiculously yummy recipe for you guys today, and the great news is that it’s freezable and reheatable and all that jazz.

 

Trust me, you want this.

I don’t know why but I never have actually made stuff shells before.  We used to make manicotti in our family for things like Mother’s Day and I would literally sit there and eat the filling while my parents did all the work.  It’s just so stinking delicious!  And yet I have never made it on my own – maybe because I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from eating all the filling by myself.

 

Regardless, these are incredibly simple to make and seem super fancy.  Plus anything that you crave for breakfast, lunch and dinner…well, I think we know it’s a keeper!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND SPINACH STUFFED SHELLS

• 20 jumbo pasta shells
• 1 lb. Italian sausage (I used hot – mama likes it spicy!)
• 8 oz ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp prepared pesto
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 400.  Prepare shells according to package instructions and cook til 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, 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 Tbsp 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 400 for 20 minutes, then broil until cheese is brown and bubbly.

 

The reason for this post is to talk about the GLAD Freezerware products, though, and I have to say that using them to pre-portion our shells, freeze and then reheat was a dream!  The great thing about the GLAD products is that they resist cracking and yet are microwave and dishwasher safe as well.  We made this dinner last week and then reheated in the microwave when we had nothing to eat after returning from our Texas trip.  It really made having a delicious and homemade dinner on the table a lot easier!

 

Other things we used the freezerware for:  I grilled up some chicken legs/thighs and portioned them out to use in dinners later on.  The freezerware kept the chicken fresh and delicious!

I also made an Israeli couscous salad which I, again, pre-portioned in the GLAD containers.  When we left for vacation we pulled them out of the freezer, let them defrost on the road and were able to eat them for lunch halfway through the first 12 hours.  WAY better than lugging around a massive cooler!

And, well, I kind of made a TON of cookies and stuck them in the freezer in the large containers to keep myself from eating them.  Yeah.  That hasn’t happened…although they ARE still super fresh!

 

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program I received GLAD Freezerware containers for review, but in all honesty I would gladly spend my own money on them as well.  They keep food fresh, resist freezer burn and cracking and are the perfect size for portioning food out in larger and smaller quantities!  You can be eligible to win some great prizes just by sharing your own freezer-friendly recipes and meal-planning tips on Glad’s Facebook page! Between now and June 30^th, everyone who shares recipes is eligible to win great prizes. For more info, visit www.facebook.com/GLAD.