cutie pie cook: jenn's cooking blog: simple spinach & ricotta stuffed shells

Ahh! It's finals week and I'm craving carbs and italian food!

I thought I'd prepare my favorite stuffed shells dish and share the recipe with you all. It's super simple and super tasty. It's also great for ovo-lacto vegetarians (vegetarians who eat eggs and dairy products).

INGREDIENTS

16 jumbo pasta shells (only need 12 but cook extra shells to allow for any that break)

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp fresh garlic, minced

3 cups (packed) fresh spinach leaves, roughly-chopped

12 oz skim-milk ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded skim-milk mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 large egg

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

1/2 cup shredded skim-milk mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp fresh italian basil, whole or finely chopped for serving

Extra parmesan for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1.) Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions.

2.) Drain pasta, coat with a bit of olive oil, and set aside.

3.) Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until it begins to brown, about a minute.

4.) Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leaves begin to wilt but are still bright green, about 2-3 minutes. The spinach should be reduced by half. Remove from the heat and let cool for 15 mins. This would be a good time to begin preheating the oven to 375 degrees.

5.) Add ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, egg, italian seasoning, salt & pepper to the spinach. Combine thoroughly.

6.) Pour 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of a shallow 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish. Stuff each pasta shell with a generous amount of the spinach and ricotta mixture, and place in the baking dish.