by ADMIN on FEBRUARY 6, 2012
Stuffed shells. Creamy. Gooey. Savory. And normally not the best choice… until now. This stuffed shells recipe is made with a blend of low fat cottage cheese with a dollop of cream cheese. Creamy and cheesy without the high saturated fat or exorbitant calorie content!
You won’t miss the ricotta at all, I promise. Trust me on this one.
So if you’re a pasta-a-holic and need your fix… try this on for size!
TIP: Though you can use frozen spinach for this recipe, I recommend the fresh. I tried it with frozen once and the spinach ended up a little too stringy.
Creamy Stuffed Shells with Spinach - Healthified!
Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1 hour Serves: 5
Creamy, savory stuffed shells - with a healthy twist!
Ingredients
12 oz box of jumbo shells
2 cups 2% cottage cheese
4 oz (1/3 less fat) cream cheese
1 egg
⅓ cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp olive oil
2 packages (9-10oz) fresh baby spinach
3 cups spaghetti sauce
⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
⅛ tsp cayenne
½ tsp pepper
⅓ tsp nutmeg
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F
Bring a pot of water to boil and cook shells according to the package. Cook until al- dente - not fully done (about 10 minutes). Drain and set on a plate in a single layer to prevent them from sticking.
In a food processor, blend together cottage cheese, cream cheese, egg, and spices. Set aside.
In a large saute pan, saute over medium high heat onions and garlic with olive oil. Cook until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add spinach, stir and let wilt - about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Stir together the cottage cheese and spinach mixture, adding the panko bread crumbs until well combined.
In a large casserole dish prepared with cooking spray, spread about 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom. Then spoon about 1.5 to 2 Tablespoons of the filling into each shell and place them in a single layer in the casserole dish.
Once all are filled, drizzle with the remaining 2 cups spaghetti sauce then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
*Makes about 30 stuffed shells.
Bake for about 30 minutes - or until the sauce is bubbling.
Enjoy!
