September 28, 2010

A Classic

YJDKIY loves making stuffed shells for some reason. Possibly because its something I love eating, but can never order in restaurants because I know they are loaded with fatty cheese, salt and other unhealthy fillings.

But when I make them...quite the opposite! Still not diet food by any means, but by using a 75% veggie 25% non-fat ricotta mix, really the only not so hot thing is the white shells.


For this version, I sauted grated zucchini (to get the water out) with a googolplex of garlic powder, oregano, fresh dried basil, thyme and pepper. Mix that with the previously stated ratio of cheese, add a tiny bit of egg/egg white, and a super stealthy but flavormaker addition of chopped pine nuts.


Stuff into cooked shells and top with marinara sauce. I love this part! And bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes.

Speaking of sauce, I normally hate jar sauce, but never have time to make my own. Last shopping trip, I spent a solid 10 minutes reading the labels to find the one with the fewest ingredients and lowest amount of sodium. Note, this is not my photo...at my one grocery store, pasta sauce ranges from $3-$9. I kid you not. I ruled out anything over $6 so who knows what those contained.


The snazzy label design on this GoodHousekeeping Good Food one caught my eye first, but based on the brand I was expecting some serious false advertising and "healthy" sauce filled with junk.


Low and behold, pronounceable, perfectly reasonable ingredients ANNNNND only 390 mg of sodium compared to up 910 mg in some. NINE HUNDRED AND TEN...that's nearly 1/2 your RDA in a serving of sauce. (sorry, that's not really legible is it?)


Moving on, the side for this dinner involved lots of snapping. One third of the YJDKIY household does not believe in snapping green beans before cooking. I do. Plus, I like the snappy noise. The Canine Component doesn't give a flip and just hopes they hit the floor, with cheese on them. Which way do you cook them?

1 comment:

  1. We had CSA SNAPPED beans tonight! With heirloom tomatoes and yummy butternut squash salad. Its time for that again if you have not made it in a while. Did we get the recipe from you?

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