Cottage Shells N Spinach Food

MUSHROOM-SPINACH STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• 1 large egg, lightly beatenMake the stuffed shells: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook until slightly softened but still firm, about 7 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drizzle with olive oil and toss; set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook, undisturbed, until golden in spots, about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 more minutes. Add the spinach and stir until heated through, about 2 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Finely chop the spinach-mushroom mixture and combine in a bowl with the cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, egg, basil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of the filling; set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the tomato sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until lightly golden, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, then rinse out the can with 1 cup water and add to the skillet; add 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the skillet and rinse out the blender.
• Make the cheese sauce: Combine the cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan and egg in the blender and puree until smooth.
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch flameproof baking dish with olive oil and pour in half of the tomato sauce. Add the stuffed shells, then top with the remaining tomato sauce. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 25 minutes; uncover and continue baking until bubbly, 15 to 20 more minutes. Turn on the broiler; drizzle the shells with the cheese sauce and broil, about 2 minutes.

SPINACH AND COTTAGE CHEESE STUFFED SHELLS (NO RICOTTA)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine ingredients "cottage cheese" through "egg".
• Pour half of the sauce in a 9x13 pan (I never measure the sauce, I just pour it from the jar). Fill the shells full with the cheese mixture, and place them into the pan with the sauce.
• Drizzle the remaining sauce lightly over the top of the shells (or spoon sauce from the jar over the shells, like I do). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

SPINACH + COTTAGE CHEESE STUFFED SHELLS ARE HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS

Steps:

• For the sauce, in a large saucepan, cook the onion and grated carrot in the olive oil over medium-low heat until vegetables are softened, about 7 minutes; do not let brown
• Add the garlic and Italian herbs and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes more
• Turn up the heat to high, add the crushed tomatoes, and stir with a wooden spoon
• Once the mixture starts to boil, add the tomato sauce and stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer again
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes
• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the shells according to package directions and remove 1 minute before the suggested cooking time
• Rinse, then place in cold water to prevent sticking
• For the filling, pulse the cottage cheese in a food processor until the large curds are broken down into smaller ricotta-like curds, about 5 pulses
• (Scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula between pulses
• ) Scrape the cottage cheese into a medium bowl and stir in the remaining filling ingredients
• Spoon the filling into a resealable plastic bag, and cut a 1-inch tip open in the corner
• (Refrigerate if waiting before stuffing shells
• ) Preheat oven to 350°F
• Spray a 2½-quart baking dish with nonstick spray
• Spread ½ cup sauce on the bottom of the pan; add 2 tablespoons water if needed to spread the sauce
• Pipe filling into each shell and arrange the filled shells in the pan
• Once shells are filled, pour the remaining sauce on top of the shells, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes
• Uncover the pan, top with parmesan cheese, if using, and bake for an additional 15 minutes
• Let cool for a few minutes before topping with basil and serving

SPINACH-RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; season with salt. (You should have about 4 heaping cups of sauce.)
• Make the stuffed shells: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook as the label directs for baking, about 9 minutes. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Spread out on a baking sheet.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a large plate lined with a kitchen towel. Squeeze to remove any excess liquid, then finely chop.
• Put the spinach in a large bowl and add the ricotta, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir until combined.
• To assemble, spread about half of the sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-14-inch baking dish. Evenly fill the shells with the spinach-ricotta mixture using a spoon, or pipe it in using a pastry bag. Arrange the shells side by side, open-side up, in the baking dish on top of the sauce, then top with the remaining sauce.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until heated through and the sauce is simmering around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until any shells or cheese poking through the sauce are lightly browned in spots, about 10 more minutes. Let sit 10 minutes. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes.

COTTAGE SHELLS 'N SPINACH

Steps:

• Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain.
• Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl.
• Add macaroni; toss lightly.

STUFFED SHELLS (WITH SPINACH AND CHEESE)

Steps:

• In a skillet, cook onion until tender.
• Transfer to a large bowl.
• Stir in the spinach, cream cheese, and egg.
• Add 1 cup mozzarella, cheddar, cottage cheese, parmesan, salt, pepper, and cinnamon if desired; mix well.
• Stuff shells and arrange in a greased 13x9x2 baking dish.
• Combine sauce ingredients; mix well.
• Pour over shells.
• Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
• Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
• Return to oven for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

RICOTTA AND SPINACH STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

Steps:

• Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water, uncovered, 3 minutes; drain.
• Cool slightly.
• Preheat oven to moderate.
• Boil, steam or microwave spinach until just wilted; drain.
• Chop spinach finely, squeeze out excess liquid.
• Combine spinach in a large bowl with ricotta and cottage cheese; spoon spinach mixture into pasta shells.
• Combine sauce and stock in oiled shallow 2 litre (8 cup) ovenproof dish.
• Place pasta shells in dish; sprinkle with parmesan.
• Bake, covered, in moderate oven about 1 hour or until pasta is tender.

STUFFED SHELLS RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Mix pasta sauce and tomatoes until blended; spread half onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
• Combine cottage cheese, spinach, Parmesan, seasoning and 1/2 cup mozzarella; spoon into pasta shells. Place in prepared baking dish; top with remaining pasta sauce mixture. Cover.
• Bake 25 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining mozzarella; bake, uncovered, 2 min. or until melted.