Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Shells

I knew I wanted to make a pasta dish tonight, and I had some lonely jumbo shells sitting in my pantry so I knew this recipe would be it. This recipe for stuffed shells is based off of this one from Skinnytaste, but I was missing some of the ingredients and I wanted to make it a little healthier so I could have more shells per serving

Spinach Stuffed Shells

Serves: 2 Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

10-15 jumbo pasta shells

1 1/2 cups of part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1 egg

5 cups fresh baby spinach

2 tbsp (2 cloves) garlic

1 32 oz can of diced tomatoes (or crushed)

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp Italian seasoning (basil, marjoram, oregano)

1  tsp garlic powder

1 tsp siracha (optional)

salt & pepper

coconut or olive oil

First, prep your ingredients by chopping your onion and garlic. Put a pot of water on to boil when ready cook the shells to al dente.

Put two sauté pans on the stove, crank to low-med heat and add your coconut/olive oil. (Depending on how good you are at multitasking, you may want to do one pan at a time….I did).

Add garlic to both pans and cook until fragrant. In one pan, add your baby spinach. In the other, add your onion and cook until translucent, about 4 mins.

Cook spinach in one pan until wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Take off heat.

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Add your tomatoes to the sauté pan with your onions and garlic. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon and add all of your spices: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste, and siracha (if you like a kick!). Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 15 minutes. ****You could obviously use canned spaghetti sauce for this, but I prefer making my own. It’s so easy and I like the fresh taste.

Sauce with all the spices added

While the sauce is simmering, prep your shell filling. Place all of the cheeses and the egg in a medium bowl with the cooked, wilted spinach/garlic mixture. Add a dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir!

Ready to mix up

All mixed up

Stuff your shells with the filling and place in an oven safe baking dish with 1/4 cup of the cooked tomato sauce for a base. Cover the stuffed shells with more sauce, cover it with foil and then bake for 35-40 mins.

Ready for the oven

Yum!

Finished Product

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