Comfort Food: Stuffed Shells

Where to start! I was cooking quite a bit, but not feeling very inspired to write anything down. Then, after cooking stuffed shells two nights in a row (Jordan's request), I decided it was high time. I hate to waste food and am in major money-saving mode, so I was determined to make something delicious for dinner Saturday night without going to the store. I had some random bits and pieces left from the week and a casual pizza party I threw on Friday night. I made stuffed shells with peas in a red pepper vegetable ragout...on Sunday I made spinach and zucchini stuffed shells in a spicy tomato sauce, but I had gone to the store beforehand, so it's not nearly as impressive.

16-18 Jumbo Shell pasta (literally all I had)

Filling:
8-10oz of Part Skim Ricotta
1 egg
Salt & Pepper
1 package of frozen pea, cooked (you'll only need 1/3-1/2 box)
Lots of fresh thyme, leftover from pizza night
High quality garlic powder, I can' resist
parmesan

Tomato Sauce:
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot/celery
2 garlic cloves
32oz can of crushed tomatoes (set aside 3/4 cup for a later use)
Dried basil and oregano

3-4tbs of low-fat plain yogurt
1 large red bell pepper
1 clove of garlic
Salt

This may sound tricky, but the timing works out quite nicely. First thing: put a large put of water on to boil and preheat the oven to 375F. Get the sauce going by sauteeing the red onion/carrot/celery/garlic in a little olive oil in a pot large enough to hold the finished sauce. Season the mixture when it gets soft with salt and pepper and some dried basil and oregano. Then, pour in the crushed tomatoes and give the whole thing a good stir. Simmer. If the water is boiling -- throw in the shells. They usually take about 10-12 min. At this point mix the ricotta with an egg, then season with salt/pepper and loads of thyme. Fold in the peas last along with a small handful of parmesan cheese if you have it. Here comes the fun part. Steam chunks of the red bell pepper in a little water until they start to soften a bit. Drain them and combine with the yogurt in the food processor with the clove of garlic and salt. Whiz away! I poured the mixture into the tomato sauce. Don't let it simmer too aggressively or the yogurt will start doing strange things, like separating.

Get a 9x13 casserole dish and put a cup or so of sauce on the bottom. Start stuffing the shells with a tbs or so of filling or as much as you can cram into them like I do. Line them up side-by-side in the casserole dish. Drizzle sauce on top and cover tightly with foil. Cook in oven for about 30-40 minutes.

Serve with extra sauce. Yum!