Vodka Meat Sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and lightly grease 9×13 baking dish.
2. In a large pot, set over medium heat, add ground beef and sausage, breaking up and cooking until browned 8-10 minutes. Once cooked, transfer to paper towel-lined plate to allow grease to drain, set aside.
3. Return the now empty pot to the stove, over medium heat add the olive oil until it shimmers, add the diced onion, cook until softened about 5 minutes. Add herbs, garlic and cook until fragrant about 1 minute more. Then, add in tomato paste until the mixture is combined.
4. Reduce the heat to low, add in tomatoes, vodka, salt and sugar. Use a wooden spoon to break up the whole tomatoes into smaller chunks. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
   (At this point, you can use an immersion blender or transfer sauce to a blender if you prefer a smoother sauce.)
5. Add the cooked beef and sausage to the sauce and continue to cook over low heat 10-15 minutes more.

Pesto Stuffed Shells

1. In a large pot of water to a boil, season with a sprinkling of kosher salt and cook pasta shells until al dente. Drain in colander, rinse with cold water and then spread out on a baking sheet to allow them to dry.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, pesto and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Ladle enough sauce in your dish to cover the bottom. Begin, stuffing shells with the pesto & cheese mixture and arrange in the dish. Ladle more sauce around and top of the shells, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and reserved mozzarella.
4. Cover the baking dish with foil and transfer to the oven to bake 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to cook until the sauce is bubbly and the cheeses on top are browned.
5. Remove the shells from oven and let rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Top with extra parmesan cheese, if desired.