What's for Dinner? Spinach Stuffed Shells

The recipe of the week is Spinach Stuffed Shells.  This recipe comes from the cookbook "Eat Up Slim Down Annual Recipes 2006".  I will tell you right now you have to like cooked spinach to enjoy this recipe, which I do not.  I thought just maybe it isn't as bad as I remember it and I should give it another try, it might be good.
Boy was I wrong.

Looks yummy, right?  I thought so.

Photo taken by Laura Henry

Ingredients:

• 12 jumbo pasta shells
• 1 package (16 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 can (8 ounces) Italian spiced diced tomatoes, drained
• salt
• ground black pepper
• 1 cup prepared pasta sauce



Photo taken by Laura Henry

• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Cook the shells according to the package directions, and drain them well.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the spinach, cottage cheese, mozzarella, and tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Spread 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of an 8" x 11" baking dish. Stuff each shell with about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture, and arrange the shells in a single layer in the dish.
5. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the shells are heated through. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese just before serving.

Yields:  4 servings          Prep time: 10 minutes            Cook time: 25 minutes

Photo taken by Laura Henry

I ate 1 bite of it. ONE.  I am not one to waste food but I could not choke down the spinach nastiness of this dish.  Funny thing - Steve made a double batch.  A DOUBLE BATCH!  And the kids didn't care for it either.  Needless to say we shared some of it with Steve's mom and dad and froze the rest.

Steve thought that maybe if he'd drained and rinsed the spinach that it would make it less pungent.  I thought the instructions on the spinach package told him to do this but I could be wrong.  

I also wonder if you could use fresh spinach instead.  I'm willing to give it another try but I'm still not so sure about the cooked spinach - rinsed, drained, whatever.

And - P.S. It's still in my freezer.