Pesto-Stuffed Pasta Shells

This was a crazy night! Earlier today I saw a cookbook that my mom has that is called Low-Fat, High-Flavor Cookbook. It sounded good to me so while I was eating breakfast this morning I was flipping through the pages and this recipe stood out to me for some reason. I think because I don't really know my opinion on pesto sauce and I know my mom likes spinach, so I figured it was time to find out! I went grocery shopping before my workout since I was going to rice village at 7 to go to a Hillel event with Rachel at the chocolate bar!! Well, after my workout I had a lot to accomplish in just one hour and I wasn't sure if it was possible. Let me tell you, I am officially a baller mutlitasker!!

I got home and immediately pulled out the recipe and started chopping and cutting and measuring things to get the sauce ready. I made my own tomato sauce instead of buying a can one and it was sooo much better. The sauce I started first and once it was completely ready then I went back for the pasta. Big mistake, I should have had the pasta going while I was making the sauce (yet another thing I need to work on, the timing with everything).

Once the sauce was complete and the pasta was in the water cooking I sprinted to take a super fast shower. Ran back out to the kitchen in my towel and finished off the pasta and drained it, then ran to get my hair dryer. I ended up cooking the pasta a little too long and they were kind of falling apart which is a bummer since I had to stuff them. So I got to work stuffing the pesto/spinach mixture (which smelled really good!) in to the pasta shells and put them in the sauce to bake. Once I put the dish in the oven I  started blow drying my hair in the kitchen! I then ran to my room with only 10 minutes left on the timer and I changed clothes and straightened my hair. Ran back to the kitchen to see that I had 2 minutes left. So of course ran back to the bathroom to put on make up and then the timer went off right as I was finishing! I went and took it out of the oven and I grabbed a couple to scarf down really fast because I had to leave for the chocolate bar right away!

So here is the recipe for the tomato sauce:

Herbed Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (yum!)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1 (14.5 oz) can no salt added whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon no sald added tomato paste
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Method:
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, 4 minutes or until tender. Add basil, oregano, and fennel seeds; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add tomatoes, and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. Serve with pasta. Yield: 2 1/4 cups

Nutrition per tablespoon:
Calories: 5     Carbs: 0.9 g     Cholesterol: 0 mg     Fat: 0.1 g (Saturated fat: 0g)     Protein: 0.2 g    Sodium: 10mg

I absolutely loved this sauce, I can't wait to use it for other meals!

Pesto-Stuffed Pasta Shells
Ingredients:
2 (10 ounce) packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 cup Pesto Sauce
2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
20 jumbo pasta shells, uncooked
2 1/4 cups Herbed Tomato Sauce
Vegetable cooking spray

Method:
Drain spinach, and press between paper towels to remove excess moisture. Combine spinach, Pesto Sauce, cottage cheese, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, pepper, and nutmeg; stir well.
Cook pasta shells according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Stuff cheese mixture evenly into cooked shells.
Spoon 1 cup Herbed Tomato Sauce into a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Place filled shells over sauce. Pour remaining Herbed Tomato Sauce over shells. Cover and bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Yields 5 servings

Nutritional Info
Calories: 365   Carbs: 49.2 g   Cholesterol: 11 mg   Fat: 7.6 g (Saturated fat: 2.9 g)   Protein: 25.3 g   Sodium: 800 mg

Alright so there it is! I didn't get a picture of how I served it since I ate in  such a hurry and had to leave. But I didn't like it at first, but if I added more sauce it made it a lot better. I kind of like it, so maybe it will grow on me? I don't know...not my favorite. But I like how they looked when they came out, and like I said, it made the house smell wonderful!

At the chocolate bar I paid 5 dollars for a ginormous piece of cake! I didn't get a picture of it though because I was just so excited to dig in! But I did take a picture of what is left of it now haha! It was called night and day I think, but oh my gosh it is decadent for sure!