SAUSAGE & CHEESE STUFFED SHELLS WITH TOMATO MUSHROOM SAUCE

Steps:

• Tomato Mushroom Sauce:.
• In a frying pan or Dutch oven, cook bacon strips until crisp.
• Remove cooked bacon, and drain on paper towels.
• Reserve 3 Tablespoons bacon fat and discard the rest.
• Using the same frying pan (or Dutch oven), place 3 Tablespoons bacon drippings, mushrooms and garlic into the pan.
• Cook mixture over low heat until mushrooms are softened (be careful not to burn the garlic).
• Add tomatoes, basil and pepper.
• Cook uncovered over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens.
• Crumble the bacon and stir it into the sauce, season with a bit of salt (to taste).
• While waiting for the pasta water to boil, start the sausage filling.
• When water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook it according to package directions, until it is almost done.
• When pasta is cooked, drain it, rinse it with cold water, and drain it again.
• Stuff the shells with the sausage ricotta mixture.
• Pasta Stuffing: If necessary, remove casings from sausage, and crumble the meat.
• In a frying pan, cook crumbled sausage over medium to medium-high heat until its browned.
• Drain cooked sausage.
• In a bowl, beat egg into ricotta, stir in cooked sausage, 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, salt and parsley.
• Stuff the cooked shells with the sausage cheese filling.
• Bake:.
• Place about half the sauce into a shallow 1 1/2-quart casserole dish or a 9-inch square baking dish.
• Arrange stuffed pasta in sauce lined pan.
• Spoon remaining sauce on top of the stuffed pasta.
• (At this point, the pasta may be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated until the next day*, or baked immediately).
• Cover pan with tin foil, and bake in a preheated 350°F for 30-45 minutes, or until bubbly and heated through.
• Remove from oven, remove foil and sprinkle remaining 4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese on top of the baked shells.
• *NOTE:If stuffed pasta was refrigerated overnight, remove plastic wrap from the pan and cover the pan with tin foil, bake as stated above, but baking time may be 5-15 minutes longer.