I don’t normally make up recipes.
I’m just bad at it.
Maybe that’s why I like baking — I love having precise measurements for EVERYTHING.
That being said, when someone on my cooking message board posted about “veggie stuffed shells in tomato cream sauce” last week, I was dying to try it.
And then she said she didn’t really have a recipe, and was just winging it.
Now, I could’ve panicked, or I could’ve just not made them.
But I foraged ahead.
And they were delicious.
Measurements are obviously approximate…I didn’t have a whole lot of faith in my abilities, and figured they would suck, so I didn’t really keep track LOL
Vegetable Stuffed Shells with Tomato Cream Sauce
(Me, with the assistance of StephnJohn on What’s Cooking)
1/4 cup finely chopped broccoli
1-1 1/2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 small zucchini, shredded and squeezed of all it’s extra juice
1/2 lb white mushrooms, finely diced
1 box jumbo shells
2 large cans crushed tomatoes (You can easily do it with 1 — I made two so there would be leftover sauce….I used 1 can roasted garlic flavor and 1 can basil flavor, and added some oregano, additional garlic, salt and pepper to it)
1/2 – 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
16 oz part skim ricotta cheese
16 oz lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 cup – 3/4 cup light cream
1 tbsp olive oil
Directions
– Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
– Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the jumbo shells according to the directions; drain and rinse and set aside to cool slightly
– Combined two cans crushed tomatoes — I used one roasted garlic flavor and one basil flavor to automatically flavor the sauce. Add some oregano and a little more garlic and let simmer
– Chop up fresh spinach, fresh mushrooms, canned artichokes, fresh broccoli, and shredded fresh zucchini — really anything you like! Eggplant would be delicious….
– In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add chopped vegetables. Cook it for 5 minutes or so until veggies begin to wilt/cook down.
– In a large bowl, mix the veggies with 16 oz ricotta and 16 oz cottage cheese, salt and pepper.
– Remove the sauce from the heat, and add the cream, stirring to incorporate it
– Place a small amount of sauce in your bakewear, then begin stuffing your shells and placing them in the dish
– Cover with sauce (you will definitely have leftover sauce if you use two big cans), then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese
– Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
