I’ve been on a crusade to try to be better about not wasting food. I’m really really bad about it with the new fridge because all the extra space is in depth and stuff gets lost in the back. So when I found half a container of ricotta, half a thing of cottage cheese, and some feta, I knew I had to make some kind of pasta. Once I found a random package of creamed spinach in the freezer, I decided on stuffed shells. This one isn’t gluten free (though, I checked, Tinkyada does make jumbo shells if you can find them). Since I knew hubs couldn’t eat them, I loaded them up with veggies and froze them individually so that I could pop them out and heat them for lunch. I wound up with 29 shells at 42 calories and 1.8 grams of fat apiece. **Note: There were 42 shells in the box but I lost several to tearing.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
- 1 cup simply cottage cheese
- .5 cup reduced fat feta
- 1 11 oz. package creamed spinach (you could totally just use regular frozen spinach, this is just what I had on hand)
- 1 cup roasted red peppers, diced
- 7 oz canned mushrooms
- 1 tbs minced garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 8.5 oz Jumbo Shells (12-oz. package), uncooked
- 12 oz arrabiata sauce
- .5 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese
Directions:
1. Boil the pasta according to package directions, less about 3 minutes. You want them just under al dente.
2. Meanwhile, mix your cheeses, spinach, peppers, mushrooms, garlic, and salt.
3. Add the beaten egg and stir until well incorporated.
4. When the pasta is done, drain and put in an ice bath to stop cooking.
5. Once shells are cool, spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
6. Carefully spoon the filling into the prepared shells. You will always lose some shells to tearing. I usually manage to get about 70% success.
7. At this point, I freeze mine so that I can pull them out for individual servings.
8. When ready to finish preparing, place desired number of shells into a baking dish and cover with arrabiata sauce and additional cheese if desired (not included in calorie calculation).
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.