Quick and Light Italian Stuffed Shells feat. Ragu!

 

Food has been bringing my family together for as long as I can remember. Some of my fondest memories include family and food. My mom is the best cook I know. Her dishes are always delicious and made with love. She makes everything seem effortless! I asked her if we could write this post together, since I have a lot to learn and she has a lot to teach!

We were walking around the grocery contemplating what to make. We wanted something on the lighter side, lots of flavor and lots of veggies. (hello January) We decided to stuff pasta shells with all of our favorite things - ground turkey + mushrooms, zucchini, cheese, and Ragu traditional pasta sauce. Although I would consider this a "simple" dish, the flavor is really packed in!

 

First, we chopped mushrooms, onions, garlic, thyme and dill. We put the mushrooms, onion and garlic in a pan with the ground turkey.

 

We seasoned that with ground pepper, paprika and pink Himalayan sea salt. Mom Tip #1 : fresh herbs go in last! We cooked the ground turkey + mushroom mixture until the meat was browned. We drained the grease and set it aside.

 

We used jumbo pasta shells and boiled them according to the instructions on the package. Mom Tip #2: add olive oil and salt to the water. She said "my mom taught me that this adds flavor and prevents the noodles from sticking." While the pasta was boiling, we grated a zucchini.

 

 After 10 minutes, we drained the al dente pasta. Mom Tip #3: use the steam as a free facial! (lol!)

 

We grabbed a casserole dish and spooned some of the Ragu pasta sauce into the bottom.

my mom should be on the Food Network

We spooned some of the ground turkey + mushroom mixture into each shell. We did this until a layer of shells filled our casserole dish.

 

 

We sprinkled the grated zucchini and shredded cheddar cheese over the top of the shells.

 

To top it all off, we drizzled more Ragu pasta sauce on top. We baked for 20 minutes. Let me tell you, this dish smells deeeeelish while baking.

my mom would like you to note how clean her oven is ;)

 

As a side dish, we served broccolini. Mom Tip #4: put these in a small pan and add a small amount of water. This will steam them! Let them steam until they are bright green, but still firm. When the broccolini was done, my mom had a brilliant idea! We had leftover bacon from breakfast and crumbled that on top. Yummmm!

 

We served this to my step dad, boyfriend and step sister and they loved it! It was light, filled with veggies and so satisfying! Ragu has so many different options that can be used in a variety of ways. Next time we make this dish, we were thinking of doing spinach and feta or chicken, zucchini and mozzarella!

 

Mom Tip #5: please rinse your jar before you recycle it. (she insists on this)

My step dad said that he's loved Ragu since he was a kid and that this meal reminded him of something that his mom would've made. Melting my heart! This year, I want to concentrate on what's most important - making memories, my family, and my health. I definitely think Ragu will play a part in this!