Spinach, Mushroom, and Turkey Sausage Stuffed Shells

I found some recipes in the Food Network magazine this week for light stuffed shells and rich stuffed shells and I thought I would do something in between. The flavors in this recipe sort of remind me of lasagna and pizza (just what I like)! Hope you enjoy! :)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of lean turkey sausage (I used Jennio brand)
• 2 Tablespoons of light olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 10 oz. of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out
• 8 oz. of white button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup of fat free cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup of part skim ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup of reduced-fat grated parmesan
• 1.5 cups of reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese (divide in half)
• 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
• Black pepper
• Sprinkle of paprika
• 1 jar (24 oz) of vodka sauce (I used Preggo)
• Sprinkle of dried oregano
• 1 box of jumbo pasta shells

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, brown turkey sausage over medium-high heat. Once it is finished cooking, drain any excess liquid and place in a small bowl and set aside.

2. In a large pot, boil water for pasta. Once the water is boiling, add the shells and cook for about 7 minutes. Drain and place the shells back into the pot. Add a little bit of olive oil to the pot so the shells don't stick together. Set the pot aside.

3. Gently wipe out the skillet that you cooked the sausage in with a dish towel or paper towels and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and diced onion. Cook over medium-high heat until onions are lightly browned (about 3-5 minutes). Next, turn the heat down to medium and add the minced garlic (stir consistently so the garlic doesn't burn) and cook for a couple of minutes.

4. Add the sliced mushrooms and chopped spinach (make sure you thawed and squeezed out all of the liquid) to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes until mushrooms are lightly browned.  Add the turkey sausage back into the pan and remove the skillet from the heat. Season with black pepper and paprika.

5. In a medium mixing bowl, add cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated parmesan, and 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese. Mix together until well incorporated. Next, stir in the sausage and veggie mixture to the cheese mixture. Season with dried basil and crushed red pepper.

6. Pour 1/2 of the vodka sauce into a large baking dish and spread evenly throughout the dish. Next, generously stuff each shell with a spoon full of the turkey/veggie/cheese mixture and place into the baking dish seam side down. Once you have stuffed all of your shells pour the remaining sauce over the top. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and dried oregano.

 

 

7. Bake for 20 minutes (covered with foil). Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes (cheese on top should be melted and dish should be bubbly). Enjoy!

Healthy Shrimp Linguine

Ingredients

• 1/2 box of whole wheat linguine
• 30 small shrimps, peeled, deveined, tails removed
• 4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of sherry cooking wine
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• Salt & pepper
• 1-2 pinches of red pepper flakes
• Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Put a large pot of water on stovetop to boil. Once water starts to boil, salt the water (about 1 pinch of salt), and then add the pasta. Turn heat down to medium-high. Cook for about 7-10 minutes.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet to medium heat and add butter. Once the butter is melted, add the olive oil and minced garlic and stir (make sure the garlic does not burn-if it starts browning, turn down the heat).

3. Next season the shrimp with salt and pepper and add the shrimp to the garlic and olive oil. Cook shrimp for about 2 minutes on each side. Once the shrimp is cooked (should turn pink), remove shrimp from olive oil and garlic and place in a small bowl to the side.

4. Add sherry cooking wine to garlic and olive oil and bring to a boil. Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low (simmer). Add the juice of one lemon and the red pepper flakes and stir the sauce with a whisk.

5. Add the shrimp back into the sauce. Lastly, add the cooked linguine to the sauce and toss all of the ingredients together. Top with parmesan cheese! Enjoy!!

Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Meatballs

Spaghetti Squash in Marinara with Turkey Meatballs

This was my first time to make spaghetti squash and it was sooooo...good!! Spaghetti squash has a little bit more of a bite to it than spaghetti noodles, and it is a bit more difficult to make, but it has alot less calories and carbohydrates than spaghetti noodles. The one difficult part about this recipe was cutting the squash in half. I got the knife stuck in the squash a few times and I was afraid if I tugged too hard the knife would come flying out at my face! Afterwards, I read that you can put it in the microwave to soften it a bit before slicing, which I think I will definitely try doing next time. Nevertheless, this recipe was delicious and I will for sure be making it again! Enjoy!



Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 lb. of lean ground turkey meat (93/7)
• 2 Tablespoons of worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1/4 cup of fresh italian parsely, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1 jar of Prego Heart Healthy marinara sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice spaghetti squash in half lengthwise (Note: you will need a sharp knife to do this - please be careful. If it is too hard to slice you can place it in the microwave for 5 minutes to soften it). Place on greased baking sheet cut sides down. Bake for 30-35 minutes.  Let squash cool for about 20 minutes.

2. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. While the squash is cooling, place ground turkey meat, worchestershire sauce, egg, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, dried oregano, italian parsely, garlic powder, and ground black pepper in a large bowl. Mix ingredients together with a large spoon or your hands until well incorporated. Once you are finished mixing, form meatballs by scooping meat out with an ice cream scoop and placing on a large greased baking sheet (you may need to use your hands a little bit to round the balls). Bake meatballs for 20-25 minutes, flipping in between to brown both sides.

3. Use a large spoon to scoop out the spaghetti squash and place in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add the spaghetti squash and marinara sauce. Bring to a slight boil and then turn down to simmer (low).

4. Place spaghetti squash and marinara sauce in a bowl and top with 3-4 turkey meatballs. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese. Enjoy!!

P.S. This is what a spaghetti squash looks like if you didn't know:

Spaghetti Squash

Cheese Tortellini with Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 bag of frozen cheese tortellinis
• 3.5 oz. bag of sundried tomatoes
• 1 lb of lean ground chicken
• 2 medium zucchinis (chopped into small pieces)
• 2 medium yellow squash (chopped into small pieces)
• 1 small package of sliced white button mushrooms
• 1 medium yellow onion (sliced thinly)
• Olive oil
• 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese + 1/4 cup for garnish
• Salt and pepper
• 1.5 tsp of garlic powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add chopped zucchini and squash to one baking sheet and add mushrooms and onions to another baking sheet. Pour approx. 2 tablespoons of olive oil over each baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. With your hands, mix the vegetables, oil, and salt and pepper together so that each vegetable is well seasoned. Bake for 20-30 minutes (flip the veggies half way through so they browned on both sides).

2. Add ground chicken to a large saute pan and cook on medium-high until the meat is no longer pink. Turn off burner once it is finished cooking.

3. Fill a large pasta pot with water and bring water to boil. Once the water is boiling, pour the pasta in reduce to heat to medium. Tortellinis will take 5-10 minutes to cook (once they all rise to the top of the water they are done).  Drain  the pasta and then place in large bowl.

4. Add the roasted vegetables (zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions) and the cooked ground chicken to the large bowl of tortellinis. Next, add the sundried tomatoes and 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese. Stir all of the ingredients together. Season with garlic powder and if needed, add more salt and pepper to taste.

5. Spoon pasta into serving bowls and garnish with remained parmesan cheese. Enjoy!