Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Shells

Hey blog world!

The musical is over and I'm back to being a human again.  I got to try a new recipe tonight and made my own pizza dough last night instead of buying the pre-made stuff from Sprouts.  Yay!

Tonight's recipe was somewhat labor intensive and probably not something you want to consider for a normal weeknight meal, but it was pretty good and seemingly healthy.


Ingredients:

1 cup shelled edamame (I bought pre-shelled frozen stuff to save time and recommend this)

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 small onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 10 ounce package thawed frozen chopped spinach, squeezed dry

9 (or so) oz artichoke hearts.  (I used a 14 oz can of artichoke hearts which I then chopped.)

1 1/4 cups plain nonfat Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

Salt and pepper

Your favorite homemade (or store bought) tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Set the oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor or blender, puree the edamame. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

2. In a large nonstick skillet set at medium heat, pour the extra virgin olive oil and add onion & garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the spinach and artichoke hearts; cook & stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat - add in the yogurt and lemon juice.

3. Add half of the spinach mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Fold into the remaining spinach along with the edamame, cheese, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.

4. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain and spread jumbo shells on 2 baking sheets. Let them cool before stuffing.

5.  Make or open your favorite tomato sauce (heat it up if not already).

6. Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray. Cover the bottom of the dish with tomato sauce. Start to stuff the shells with the dip and line them up in the baking dish. When the dish is full, drizzle pasta sauce over the shells. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Again, this was a bit labor intensive for a Tuesday, but the end result was good.  I also have leftovers for a good long time.  Try this some weekend if you're looking to "indulge" in something creamy.  Truthfully, this is pretty darned good for you even though it tastes creamy.

Enjoy!

Molly