Stuffed Shells

I don't know about you, but whenever I'm cleaning out or reorganizing my pantry, I always seem to find at least a couple half boxes of pasta that I've had for who knows how long. I mean, with just me and my husband here, rarely do I cook an entire box of pasta at once. Lucky for me, whenever I manage to stumble upon those half empty (or half full if you like) boxes, it always seems to spark a dinner idea. Well last week as I was standing on my tip toes trying to reach something on the top shelf of my pantry, I happened upon a partial box of large pasta shells. Well, naturally I thought of stuffed shells. I haven't made these in so long so I thought I'd add them to my menu for this week. I had forgotten how good these little cheese stuffed shells are. I had planned on having leftovers for our lunches tomorrow, but let's just say it looks like one of us will have to order out for lunch. They were just too darn good!

Stuffed Shells

1/2 box jumbo shells
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4-1/2 cup baby spinach
salt and pepper
4 cups pasta sauce or meat sauce (I used a meat sauce made with ground turkey and jarred sauce)

Preheat oven to 350. Begin by boiling the shells until done (about 8-9 minutes). Drain. Combine cheeses, egg, italian seasoning, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a food processor. Add baby spinach and pulse a couple more times until the spinach is slightly chopped. In a baking dish, spread 2 cups of the meat sauce in the bottom of the dish. Next, scoop about 1 1/2 tsp of the cheese mixture into each shell and place them in the dish on top of the sauce. Top with the remaining sauce and additional mozzarella cheese is desired. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 25-30 min.