Day 79: Sausage Pecan Pesto Shells

I originally got this idea from one of my Real Simple magazines.  (Follow that link to the exact recipe.)  I made it once or twice last summer, I think, and we all loved it!  However, the original recipe calls for a parsley pesto, rather than basil.  (You can really make any kind of pesto since the word in Italian means "to pound, or crush" referring to how they originally started making basil & pine nut pesto.)  I've made a parsley pesto, spinach pesto, of course basil pesto, and next will make a broccoli pesto, I believe.  All good, but basil (the original) is definitely the most flavorful.  Because I wanted to save some pesto for tomorrow's paninis for lunch, I made this pesto with a combination of parsley, basil, and even some spinach.  I started with several cloves of garlic in the food processor, added handfuls of basil, parsley, and spinach, and some parmesan cheese.  Sprinkled in some salt and pepper, and began to pulse the processor.  I drizzled in some extra virgin olive oil and even added some pasta water to this batch.  When it came to my desired consistency, I stopped.

Here's a more literal recipe for pesto:
3-4 cups of greens (basil, parsley, or spinach, or a combination of the 3)
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (*usually when I say parmesan cheese, I mean parmesan/romano combo from the store)
1/2 - 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
optional: 1/2 cup pine nuts

Combine all dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times.  Turn the processor on and drizzle in the olive oil while the pesto comes together.  Use more olive oil as you desire.

For the entire meal, I:
1. Cooked 3/4 lb shells according to package instructions.
2. Made a pesto in the food processor.
3. Brown a little less than 1 lb of sausage. (You can use Italian sausage, but I used breakfast sausage and added some Italian seasonings such as dried basil, oregano, parsley, onion flakes, and 2 cloves of minced garlic.)
Combine the shells, pesto, and sausage, and add some whole or half pecans if desired.