Sausage Stuffed Shells

290 Calories per 2 Shells

This was a very easy meal- but it does take some time to cook because you have to bake the shells. Prep time, however was quick. I left out the carrots just because I'm not a huge carrot fan. I made this one a few weeks ago and forgot to take a picture of the final product- so I'm using the picture from the website- but it looked pretty similar. The only thing that was "tricky" was finding the gigantic pasta shells. The biggest ones that Kroger had were not even half the size of the ones that the recipe calls for. So, instead of a serving being 2 shells, it was 6.

prep time:30 min

start to finish:1 hr 20 min

makes:12 servings (2 shells each)

24	jumbo pasta shells (from 12-oz box)
1	lb 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) Green Giant® frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/2	teaspoon dried basil leaves
3/4	cup finely shredded carrots (1 medium)
1	jar (25.5 oz) Muir Glen® 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 carrots and sausage.
4.	Spread about 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce over bottom of baking dish. Spoon about 3 tablespoonfuls sausage mixture into each pasta shell. Arrange shells, filled sides up, on sauce in baking dish. Pour remaining pasta sauce over stuffed shells. Spray 15-inch piece of foil with cooking spray; cover shells 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.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Heat oven to 375°F.

Nutritional Information

1 Serving: Calories 290 (Calories from Fat 80); Total Fat 9g (Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 40mg;Sodium 720mg; Total Carbohydrate 33g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 7g); Protein 19g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A70%; Vitamin C 4%; Calcium 25%; Iron 15% Exchanges: 2 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Source: Eatbetteramerica.com