DINNER: Stuffed but Skinny Pasta Shells and Sauteed Mushrooms and Tomato over Spinach

Servings: 5 - 6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef (or ground chicken or tofu)
• 1 large bunch of spinach (try the Trader Joe's bag of spinach - it's pre-cut)
• 1/2 pound of mushrooms (or try one of the small containers), chopped
• 1 box of large pasta shells (try Barolli's)
• 1 container of low-fat/non-fat cottage cheese (Trader Joe's has a good one - but the half or full size container depending on what ratio of cottage cheese/mozzarella you prefer)
• 1 bag of shredded light mozzarella cheese (personally prefer a spicy blend such as Trader Joe's light Mexican blend)
• 1 bottle of arrabiata pasta sauce (Trader Joe's has a great one) 
• 1 small can of tomato paste (Hunts makes small bottles that are perfect for this recipe)
• 3 eggs (substitute: 3 egg whites)
• 1 chopped red pepper
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Oregano
• Cayenne Pepper
• Pepper
• Salt

Instructions

• Boil Pasta 
• Tip: add a pinch of salt and 1/2 tsp of olive oil to the boiling water prior to adding in the pasta 
• Prepare Meat/Tofu/Chicken Sauce
• Saute garlic with a 1 tbsp of olive oil for at least 2/3 minutes
• Add in ground beef (or alternate)
• Allow beef and garlic to simmer for 3-4 minutes
• Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of black pepper
• Add in 1/2 of bottle of arabbiata sauce and mix the meat and sauce to ensure a uniform consistency - allow the the mixture to simmer for at least 3-4 minutes
• Add in all of the tomato paste and mix
• Add in red pepper
• Add in remaining arabbiate sauce
• Allow mixture to simmer for another 5 minutes or so - toss in a handful of spinach if you like
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Prepare Cheese Sauce
• Mix cottage cheese, mozzarella, and eggs 
• Set aside in the refrigerator until you prepare your pasta
•  Prepare your pasta for baking
• Spread your meat sauce across the bottom of your casserole dishes (use as many as you need to use all of your pasta shells)
• This layer should cover the bottom of your dishes entirely
• Spread out the pasta face up across your dishes - leave them with breathing room
• Fill your pasta (use a spoon) with the cheese mixture
• Drizzle any remaining sauce on top of the pasta
• Bake @350 for 30 minutes
• While your pasta is baking, prepare your saute
• Wash and leave spinach to dry
• Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium size frying pan and add in all of your mushrooms
• Add in a dash of garlic salt (or garlic powder and salt)
• Add in a generous amount of black pepper
• Add in cayenne pepper to your taste
• Allow mushrooms to saute for at least 4-5 minutes
• Add in tomatoes
• Allow mixture to heat for another 5-10 minutes
• Serve the sauteed mushrooms and tomato over the spinach
• Enjoy!