Introducing "Foodie Tuesday!" Every Tuesday I am going to blog about a recipe we recently tried or one of our favorites. I am lucky to have a husband who likes to cook and try new things. We are always testing out new recipes, tweaking them to fit our "needs", and creating our own (so much fun).
Keep in mind that all the recipes I post are going to be in the healthiest form I could possibly get them into. Unhealthy meals in our house is almost non-existent. We try to cook with as many organic ingredients that we could get our hands onto, especially fresh produce (SO important). We stay away from GMO's, a lot sodium, butter, and pretty much anything artificial. If you were to go grocery shopping with us, you wouldn't see much packaged food. Buying food in the whole most form possible is so important to me. This way, I know what we are putting into our bodies, and most importantly, what our sweet little baby is eating :)
A recipe we tried last night was kind of out of the ordinary. We NEVER eat pasta, or cook with dairy. But we did both last night (we will call it a treat). Whenever making pasta, try to buy whole wheat or even pasta made completely from vegetables.
The website I got the recipe from: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/01/spinach-stuffed-shells-with-meat-sauce.html?m=1
Spinach Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 9 • Serving size: 3 stuffed shells • OldPoints: 7 pts • Points+: 9 pts
Calories: 360.9 • Fat: 12.8 g • Protein: 28.4 g • Carb: 34.3 g • Fiber: 3.3 g
Ingredients:
- 27 (9 oz) Barilla Jumbo Shells
- 1 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 lb 99% lean ground turkey
- 32 oz crushed tomatoes (I used Tuttorosso)
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
- 8 oz reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 egg
- 16 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed well
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
Directions:
Boil water and cook shells according to package directions, make sure to make them al dente.
Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in oil. Add turkey and salt and brown until cooked, breaking up in small pieces. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil, then simmer on low, covered, about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375°.
In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, egg, spinach, mozzarella, and parmesan.
Once shells are cooked and cool, fill each shell with (about 2 heaping tbsp) cheese mixture and place on a large baking dish, or two smaller dishes, covering the bottom of the dish with a little sauce.
Top shells with half of the sauce, cover with foil and bake 40 minutes; uncover foil and bake 5 more minutes.
Serve with additional sauce on top.
This recipe was absolutely delicious! We did, however, cut down the salt and used Veggie Shredz for the mozzarella. This is something we would definitely make again, but would add more veggies (mushrooms, more spinach and less cheese mixture, and red peppers). I wouldn't even mind cutting out the turkey burger and making it a vegetarian dish! This also makes a ton. We could have fed a family of 8, no problem.
Not as pretty of a picture as the website... I need to work on taking pictures of my food :)
