Italian Stuffed Shells

We usually buy our meats through the WagJag Grocery Deals.  It's great quality meat straight from local butcher shops, and the prices can't be beat.  Recently I bought a box of ground turkey, and I've been on a mission to find recipes for it.  Ground turkey can usually be used in place of ground beef or chicken, but it definitely needs more seasoning and less cooking time.  It's a fairly bland meat, and it dries out quickly.

This was a great, although tedious, recipe to make.  My daughter helped me stuff the shells, which took the longest amount of time, so at least we had fun with it.


Stuffed Shells
1 package jumbo pasta shells
8oz mushrooms diced (I left these out since neither of my kids like mushrooms)
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 onion chopped
1 lb ground turkey
salt & pepper
1 package frozen chopped spinach thawed & drained (I used fresh since I had some to use up)
2 T chopped parsley (I used the parsley in a tube, I always have these on hand since they are super fresh)
2c cottage cheese (I used fat free)
1c parmesan cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 8oz package shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta in salted boiling water for 8-10 minutes (al-dente).  Set aside in warm water.  in a large skillet saute mushrooms, garlic and onions.  Add turkey and cook until evenly browned.  Season with salt & pepper.  Remove from heat and stir in spinach, parsley, cottage cheese and parmesan.  Stuff cooked shells with the mixture and place in a 9x13 baking dish.  Cover with tomato sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella.  Cover with foil and bake 30-45 minutes (I did 40 minutes).

I served this with a simple Caesar salad.  It was a great meal!!

Until next time!

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