Stuffed Shells

Cameron and I watched Cooking Yourself Thin (one of my favorite new cooking shows) the other day and they cooked Stuffed Shells. Both of us thought that it looked very yummy so I decided to cook it tonight. He came in the kitchen and asked me, “ugh, what’s that green stuff?” Of course he saw the same show that I did, but I guess he completely blocked out the whole zuchinni and spinach part of the recipe. AND Danny came in and saw the zuchinni and asked, “What are you going to do with that?” When I told him that it’s going in the pasta he was shocked and I think not real excited.

Well, it turned out quite tasty and they ate it. Danny actually ate half the pan. Cameron did pick out some of the zuchinni. Next time, and there will be a next time, I will cut the zuchinni a lot smaller. I added two large links of chicken sausage, because I knew that they would freak out if there was no meat.

I have changed the recipe some.

Ingredients:

12 oz. box of pasta shells

8 oz of chicken sausage with spinach and asiago cheese (from Sams)

I jar of Smart Balance pasta sauce

1 small yellow onion chopped

1 small purple onion chopped

2 medium zuchinni (chopped or grated)

1 pkg of baby spinach

2 TBSP of Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder

olive oil

2 cups skim milk ricotta cheese

mozzarella cheese

parmesan cheese



Partially cook the pasta shells (about 7 minutes), drain and remove to a pan sprayed with cooking spray. Set aside.

Cook sausage with a little olive oil in the pan until done. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, add the onions and zuchinni, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Saute until softened, but with a little bite. Add sausage and ricotta cheese. Mix thoroughly. Spoon mixture into shells and place in a single layer in a baking dish. Carefully pour the pasta sauce on top. Sprinkle both cheeses over the sauce. Cover and bake for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.