Stuffed shells

Misfits- The Shining

So today was day two of an unexpected snow day. I made it a absolute To Do: to create a recipe, eat it and post. It's been three months for goodness sake! I've been going to the gym with the new year and have been realizing I need more protein...I'll eat dinner and then eat again and again. My favorite go to for protein....beans : ) I was able to sneak those stinkers into this recipe. For extra protein some veggie crumbles would be good as well.

1 box of jumbo shells

1 can of cannellini beans (white kidney)

15 oz. of ricotta cheese

4 mushrooms chopped

4 chopped green onions

2 cups of chopped spinach

1 Tablespoon of Earth Balance (I used vegan--tastes so much better than butter!)

1 Tablespoon of Pesto

1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley

1/2 cup of feta (I used tomato and basil)

1 cup of shredded mozzarella (optional)

1/4 cup of egg whites (optional)

Panko (optional)

Marinara sauce (optional)

Start out by following the directions the box of shells. Pre-heat oven accordingly.

Sautee the spinach, mushrooms and green onion with earth balance.

In a bowl mix the ricotta cheese, parsley, feta, mozzarella, garlic powder and egg whites. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. I didn't want my beans to be whole, so I used a food processor and added the basil to this, after grinding I mixed with ricotta cheese. Completely up to you if you want to skip this step. Mashing beans works too.

Mix sautéed veggies with ricotta mix.

Lightly spray your pan and stuff your shells to your hearts content! I saved the red sauce for later, but you can pour on top now. I sprinkled with panko and pepper before baking.  I cooked mine for 40 minutes and the last few minutes I warmed up my red sauce in a bowl.

ENJOY!!!!