Happy Meatless Monday!  As you may or may not know, Planet Forward supports the Meatless Monday campaign – a non-profit initiative in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  It’s part of an eco-friendly worldwide movement to reduce consumption of animal products in favour of more plant-based meals to fight global warming and improve our personal health.  This week we bring an Italian vegetarian recipe for you to try.

Stuffed shells may seem difficult to make but they can be prepared for baking in 20 minutes.  If you can’t find the jumbo shells at your grocery story, cannelloni or manicotti noodles will work as well although shells are preferred.  Serve with a side salad for a well-rounded meal.

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. (300 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
• 1 container (500 g) ricotta cheese (low-fat can be used)
• 1 cup Part Skim Mozzarella Shredded Cheese, divided in half
• 1/2 Parmesan cheese (divided in half)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
• Salt/pepper to taste
• 20 jumbo pasta shells (or cannelloni/manicotti pasta) cooked, drained and cooled
• 3-4 cups tomato pasta sauce

Instructions:

Heat oven to 400°F. Mix spinach, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, peppers, egg, garlic, oregano and salt/pepper until well blended.  Spoon into shells, adding about 1 heaping tablespoon to each shell.  Spread half the sauce onto bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish. Arrange shells, filled-sides up, in baking dish; top with sauce, mozzarella and parmasen cheeses. Cover with foil.  Retain extra sauce for serving.

Bake 40 min. or until heated through, removing foil after 30 min to allow cheese to melt and brown.

Don’t forget – to join the movement, sign up online by going to your local Meatless Monday site or you can go here meatlessmonday.com to learn more.   If this Monday passed you by, next week is another chance to go meatless – it’s only one day for an eco-friendly cause.  Join us.  Buon (vegetarian) Appetito!