Could We Be Italian?

The other night I asked Kyle to pick out a recipe for dinner. I wasn’t expecting much but was very surprised by his choice. He found a recipe off Eat Better America, Turkey Sausage Stuffed Sells! It turned out to be one of the best Italian dishes I’ve ever made. I was a little hesitant because I knew it would take awhile to cook and I’m usually ready to eat about 6:00 or 6:30. It wasn’t ready till about 7:45 but was so worth it.

The recipe seems like a lot of steps but it’s not too bad. Especially when you have help!

Cook your sausage until browned. mix together your ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese.

Cut your cooked pasta in half to make it easier to stuff.

Pour part of your sauce into bottom of sprayed dish. Stuff your pasta and arrange in dish. This is the fun part!

Pour remaining pasta on top.

Cover with foil and bake.

Turkey Sausage Stuffed Shells

1 box of Manicotti shells

1lb lean Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 container (15 oz) light ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded reduced-fat Italian cheese blend (8 oz)

1 box (9 oz) frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed and drained

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 jar (25.5 oz) organic Italian herb pasta sauce

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.

2. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, crumble sausage. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until no longer pink; drain.

3. In medium bowl, stir ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the Italian cheese blend, the spinach and basil until well mixed. Stir in sausage.

4. Spread about 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce over bottom of baking dish. Cut manicotti shells in half. Spoon about 3 tablespoonful's sausage mixture into each pasta. Arrange pasta, on sauce in baking dish. Pour remaining pasta sauce over stuffed pasta. Spray 15-inch piece of foil with cooking spray; cover pasta with foil.

5. Bake 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 1 cup Italian cheese blend. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Served with a side salad and garlic bread!

I dare you to try it! Let me know how it turns out.

Comments

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