Italian Recipe: Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Ricotta

Spinach and ricotta are the perfect pairing – especially when they are tucked inside a big pasta shell and smothered in marinara. Pair the masterpiece that is stuffed shells with a nice salad and some garlic bread, and you’ll have yourself a winner at the dinner table.

There are tons of variations on this classic suppertime dish – shells come stuffed with everything from a medley of cheeses to Italian sausage to ground turkey. We’ve even seen bolder recipes for enchilada stuffed shells packed with refried beans and enchilada sauce.

For this recipe, we’ll keep it classic with spinach and three kinds of cheese: ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. If you’d like to add ground turkey or ground beef, be sure to cook the meat before adding it to the stuffed shell mixture. One pound of meat would be perfect for this recipe.  

Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Ricotta

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 16 jumbo pasta shells
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 4 cups fresh spinach leaves, roughly chopped and packed tightly when measuring
• 12 ounces skim-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon of dried basil)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups marinara sauce (click here for a homemade sauce recipe, which we used with our baked ziti recipe, or use store-bought sauce)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Heat a large pot of water until boiling, add a big pinch of salt to the water, and then add the pasta shells. Cook the pasta shells according to the package’s directions, until the shells are al dente.
3. Drain the pasta shells and set them aside.
4. Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and let it cook for a minute, until it starts to get a little bit brown, and then add the spinach. While the spinach is cooking, stir it occasionally for about four minutes, or until the leaves start to wilt –- the leaves should still be bright green. The entire batch of spinach should reduce in size by half.
5. Remove the spinach from the heat and let it cool.
6. Grab a mixing bowl and combine the spinach, cheeses, egg, basil, salt, and pepper until everything is evenly blended.
7. Lightly grease the bottom of an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Then, pour 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce into the bottom of the dish (spread it evenly).
8. Get the shells and spinach/cheese mixture. Stuff each shell with a heaping spoonful or two of the spinach/cheese mixture (make sure each one is nice and full!), and then place each shell in the baking dish on top of the sauce.
9. Cover the shells with the remaining sauce and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes, remove the foil, and then continue baking for about 10 or 15 more minutes (until the top starts to get golden brown and the sauce starts bubbling).
10. If desired, sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese and extra slivers of fresh basil for garnish.
11. Enjoy!

Healthy One-Pot Recipe: Spinach, Red Pepper & Potato Frittata

A lot of people tend to forget about eggs when they’re thinking of cooking something other than breakfast, but we love them at any time of day; a frittata is a great choice in the morning, but is equally filling and tasty for lunch or dinner. Depending on your diet and tastes, you could use egg whites and omit the potatoes, or you could add goat cheese or feta to give it a little more creaminess and extra flavor…it’s up to you! This one-skillet meal is healthy and delicious, and the super speedy cleanup is just one of its many perks!

Veggie-Packed Frittata

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 12 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 pound spinach, chopped
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1-2 red bell peppers, seeded, pitted and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (or vegetable oil), divided
• 1 tablespoon milk
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. In an ovenproof skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and sauté your diced potatoes, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Add water, turn heat up to high and cover potatoes, steaming them for 3-5 minutes, or until water evaporates. Uncover and stir in the middle. Remove potatoes and set aside.
4. Turn heat down to medium-high and another tablespoon olive oil. Add red peppers and onions and sauté until tender. 5-7 minutes.
5. During the last, 2-3 minutes, add garlic and spinach (until just wilted).
6. Place potatoes back in with the spinach, peppers, onions and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7. In a bowl, beat eggs in a bowl and add milk to make them light and fluffy.
8. Pour the beaten eggs on top of vegetables and gently swirl the pan so everything is covered evenly.
9. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the bottom begins to set, then transfer skillet to oven and bake until eggs are just set, 10-15 minutes.