Dinner

Ground Turkey and Spinach Stuffed Shells

March 20, 2017

If you had dinner plans change them. To these ground turkey and spinach stuffed shells. You’re welcome.

Pasta Shells-2

 

Sometimes you just get in carb-y moods. And the only feasible solution, is to eat carbs. That happened today, so obviously I went to the store and bought the biggest noodle I could find, jumbo  shells. Then to feel good about myself, I added some of the healthy stuff with ground turkey, spinach, and fennel. Put all of that together and you get ground turkey and spinach stuffed shells. Pasta just has so many great feels, you can do whatever you want to them and at the end of the day, you still ate pasta. Which I don’t think anyone could say in a negative way.

Stuffed Pasta Shells Full Pic

Lean ground turkey or chicken is a great substitute to ground beef if you are trying to cut excess fat out of your diet. Be sure to always read your labels while you are shopping. I try to steer clear of nitrates and other additives, because junk like that does not belong in your food.

Spinach is packed with antioxidants, fiber, minerals, and even protein. This powerhouse of nutrition should be consumed very regularly. It’s great for cholesterol, bone health, heart health, and honestly there really isn’t much that spinach doesn’t add value to. Moral of this message, eat more spinach. A great way to do that is follow this ground turkey and spinach stuffed shells recipe below.

Stuffed Pasta Shells-3

 

Ground Turkey and Spinach Stuffed Shells

Serves: 6-8
Cooking Time: 1 hr 15 min

Ingredients

  • 24 Jumbo Pasta Shells
  • 1-24 oz Jar of Your Favorite Pasta Sauce
  • 1 # Lean Ground Turkey
  • 1 Fennel, thinly sliced
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp, lemon juice
  • 4 cups, Spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1-15 oz container, Non-Fat Ricotta
  • 1/4 cup, Parmesan Cheese, grated
  • 8 oz, Fresh Mozzarella, thinly sliced
  • 1 Egg, beaten
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1/4 cup, Parsley, Chopped
  • Optional: Fennel Seeds and Dried Oregano

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

2

Cook pasta shells according to directions on box, I let cook in boiling water for about nine minutes, there was still a slight crunch to the texture, drain and set aside

3

In a separate bowl, add ground turkey, salt, pepper, and optional seasonings and mix to distribute flavor throughout

4

In large saute pan, heat olive oil, garlic, and fennel until fragrant and soft, Add lemon juice and let liquid cook out

5

Add seasoned ground turkey to pan and brown, when meat is cooked through add chopped spinach, stir, and once wilted, shut heat off

6

In a bowl, add meat and veggie mixture, beaten egg, non-fat ricotta, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and mix

7

In a large casserole dish pour 1/2 of the sauce in the bottom, then stuff your noodles and arrange on top of the sauce

8

pour remainder of the sauce in the dish and top with sliced mozzarella, feel free to add extra grated parmesan on top as well

9

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, sauce should thicken up and cheese should start to brown

10

When it comes out of the oven top with chopped parsley, and enjoy!

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