Now I remember why I don't make stuffed shells.......

.....because when the cook the shells they break up and stick to the bottom of the pan so you have to cook the whole box and then you only get about half of the box with shells that you can still stuff and use which is just beyond frustrating and wasteful.....

But I digress.....

I had the TV on one morning while I was doing stuff and J was sleeping and one of Paula Deen kids was on (apparently only she got axed not them) and he was making stuffed shells.   This prompted me to wonder why I didn't ever make those.  So off to Pinterest I went looked at a couple of recipes and came up with this.......

1 jar your favorite red pasta sauce (don't judge I have a baby and limited time)
1 12 oz can tomatoe sauce
1/2 a container ricotta cheese
1 cup or so of mozzarella cheese
1 lb chicken italian sausage
1 box pasta shells
handfuls of your favorite Italian herbs fresh or dried
sprinkle of sugar
splash of red wine

Brown the sausage and add the sauces.  Twik the sauce to your taste with sugar, wine, and herbs.   Let simmer for about an hour or so if you can but if not move on to the next step

Cook the shells - cook all of them.....just in case they break or stick to the bottom of the pan (I know I'm ranting and repeating - I can its my blog - hee hee). Once cooked place the ones that aren't stuck to the bottom of the pan on a towel to cool. 

Spray the bottom of a 9x13 or two 9x9 pans (I did two 9x9 and put one in the freezer for a rainy day)

Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of both pans - enough to cover the bottom and make a "nest"

Into the remaining sauce add the ricotta and a handful of the mozzarella cheese.  Add more or less of the ricotta as you see fit - this to me is a personal preference thing.   Also the traditional thing to do would be to add some cooked spinach at this point but I opted not to this time.  This is your "stuffing".  Stuff the shells and nestle them on top of the sauce.

Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the tops

If you are freezing stop here - double wrap and save for another day.

If you are eating now......Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 30 - 45 minutes depending on your oven.

The last 15 minutes I put some leftover french bread wrapped in foil next to it to have some warm bread to go with it.