Saturday, January 1, 2011

Cooking Weekend night #2

With the chili all packed up and in the freezer, I was on to Stuffed Shells. I've made this recipe a few times and it's always tasty. This time I skimped on the feta because the packages came in 3/4c and giant sizes and I thought I could get away with a little less. Not as tasty without the right amount of feta, I will know next time!

The picture isn't great but it still tasted good! Now I've got more containers in the freezer for lunch! This recipe came from Cooking Light a few years ago. Serving size is 4 shells but I've always thought 3 was plenty. And at 2 WW points (not plus, just points) per shell that's not too bad!
Artichoke, Spinach and Feta Stuffed Shells

1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini peppers
1 28-oz can fire roasted crushed tomatoes with added puree
1 8-oz can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 cup (4 oz) shredded provolone cheese, divided
1 cup (4 oz) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup (4 oz) fat free cream cheese, softened
1/ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 9-oz package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped
1 5-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
2 garlic cloves, minced
20 cooked jumbo shell pasta
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat; cook 12 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; set aside.

3. Combine 1/2 cup provolone and the next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium bowl. Spoon or pipe about 1/5 tbsp cheese mixture into each pasta shell; place stuffed shells in a 13x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon tomato mixture over shells; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup provolone. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese melts.

I have tried the bag/piping method each time I've made this recipe and always ended up with a spoon. The spinach gets too clumpy and it gets stuck. Then if you make the opening too big it shoots out too much. The spoon method seems to work just fine though.

Yea, stuffed shells! Tomorrow on to the chicken...

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