Baked shells casserole

A fond memory of mine from childhood is my (great) Aunt Catherine's homemade tomato sauce. All of us loved visiting Uncle Jim and Aunt Catherine because it was like a trip into the "good ol' days." She used to make the BEST sauce. To the Zappas, it's legendary. God bless her. The generations that followed in her steps have tried to replicate her sauce to no avail. My mom's brother, Eugene, is close. With that said, I have great news...I finally made a signature sauce of my own! It's nothing like Aunt Catherine's, but she'd be proud.

I made my tomato sauce to accompany a rendition of stuffed shells that I saw on the Rachel Ray Show today. Basically, it's the taste of stuffed shells without the hassle. I used medium shells and mixed the ricotta and spinach and baked it with the terrific homemade tomato sauce. Did I mention the tomato sauce? Wow! Not only was the flavor unbelievable, it's had a lasting aroma that's resonated throughout the house all night.

The new legendary sauce: I finely chopped an onion and five cloves of garlic and sauteed them in three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. After a few minutes, I added the grated carrot, thyme, marjoram, oregano and red pepper flakes. I gently sauteed these ingredients for another ten minutes before stirring in the parsley and red wine. I reduced the heat and added a cup of chicken stock, the tomatoes and let simmer for 30 minutes. I pureed it all before using.

In the meantime, I cooked the spinach in a pan with olive oil. I mixed the ricotta cheese with the finished noodles then added the spinach. While the sauce was simmering, I preheated the oven to 375-degrees.

I coated the bottom of a large baking dish with the sauce, added the noodles (with cheese and spinach) and covered with more sauce. I made sure that I had sauce left over to use another day. Of course, I topped the pasta with grated Parmesan cheese before I slid it in the oven, baked for 20 minutes and enjoyed! Seriously...enjoyed.

Aunt Catherine would definitely be proud of this sauce and I'm very proud of this casserole.

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small carrot, grated
1 1/2 tsp marjoram and oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup chicken stock
2-cans (14 oz) Italian stewed tomatoes
2-cans (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1 pound medium shells
1 bag frozen spinach
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Music: Dean Martin - Ain't That A Kick In Head
Weather: 25-degrees in River Falls, 51-degrees in Colorado Springs