Stuffed Pasta Shells

This weekend I was bound and determined to try a new recipe since I haven't had time to try something new in a while. I came across a stuffed shell recipe that looked good so I tweaked it a little and made it mine. It turned out SOOOOO good and I would highly recommend making it for your next family dinner! :) The other great thing about it is you can easily make enough to put some in the freezer for a meal on another day! I hope you enjoy it!!

Stuffed Pasta Shells
Serving Size-3 stuffed shells
Calories: 365 cals
Fat: 10g
Protein: 28g
*It seems pretty high but this is a VERY filling meal!

Ingredients:
27 (9 oz) Jumbo Pasta Shells
1 cup onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.25 lb lean ground turkey
32 oz crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper
2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
8 oz reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
9 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed well between paper towels
1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375°. Bring water to a boil and add pasta shells. Make sure you do not overcook the pasta shells.


While boiling the water, cook the ground turkey over medium heat in a frying pan. When turkey is done, add in chopped onion and minced garlic.

Add crushed tomatoes, fresh basil, salt and pepper to meat. Cover and simmer on low for a few minutes.


In a large mixing bowl, mix together ricotta, egg, spinach, mozzarella, and parmesan.


Lightly cover the bottom of a baking dish with some of the pasta/meat mixture. Fill each pasta shell with 2 tbsp of the cheese/spinach mixture. Place the stuffed shell on top of the sauce in baking dish. You can use two baking dishes if you want so you can freeze one for another time.


Once all pasta shells are in dish or dishes, add the rest of the tomato/meat sauce on the tops of the shells.


Put foil over the baking dish and bake in oven for 40 minutes. Three shells doesn't seem like a lot but these shells will fill you up I promise! :)

PS-This meal was so good that Shawn and I both wanted to lick our plates! :)