Better Enjoy it.

My husband is in Cancun...for a week...with his buddies...celebrating the year they turn 30.  I am at home...with toddler...34+ weeks pregnant...32 years old. I think that makes me wife of the year. I agreed to the trip ages ago, with the thought that there would be a slim chance that they would actually pull it off, get organized and book. Proved me wrong. I do think this is a great chance for him to hang out with his best friends who live mostly in Edmonton. Am I sympathetic to the fact that today he is hung over, tired and has a sunburn? Not at all.

I went over to Vancouver to take said husband to the airport and enjoy some time with my girlfriends. My parents being the amazing grandparents that they are agreed to watch Hudson for the weekend. So don't feel too sorry for me. I squeezing in an amazing dinner at Vij's (if you haven't been, go!), a pedicure, brunch, an Ikea shopping spree and good times with friends I miss. The only hitch was not being able to make it home on Sunday because the ferries were not running due to extreme weather. I did arrive home Monday ready for lots of Hudson snuggles and forever indebted to my parents (again).

Anyways we still need to eat. Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells sounded about right.

Ingredients
16-18 jumbo pasta shells
1 pound Italian turkey sausage, casing removed (or low fat pork)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 bell pepper (colour of your choice), diced
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze dry
1/2 cup light ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded skim milk mozzarella cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and fill a large bowl with cold water and ice, set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells and cook according to package directions. Drain well then add to ice water until ready to stuff.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage then use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage, cook 5-6 minutes until browned, drain any excess fat. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds then add tomatoes (with juices), bell pepper and spinach; cook 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in ricotta cheese.
3. Using a spoon, fill pasta shells with pork filling and arrange in a baking dish (9-inch x 9-inch baking dish works well). Sprinkle tops with shredded cheese then bake in the oven 20-25 minutes until cheese has melted and tips of shells begin to crisp and brown.

Adapted from here.

I doubled the whole recipe to use up the entire box of shells and tub of ricotta while I was at it. I made a few changes to the recipe: I added the bell pepper, more spinach and a little less sausage. I think it could handle a sprinkle of chili flakes if you feel up to it. There was enough to freeze plus there was some filling left over. I added it to some jarred pasta sauce and had another meal just like that. Filling the shells was a tad tedious, but I didn't put in any great effort to make them look perfect (as you can see in the photo). I served with a simple salad with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. 

Who needs sunshine and fruity drinks when you can have wind storms and food like this?