This tomato sauce is similar to my standard recipe, but I made a few changes so I figured I would type it out again. This sauce recipe does make a large quantity. I made this is my 5 quart dutch oven. It was full before I added the meat. So I had to remove some tomato sauce (about 2 cups) , which I just put in the freezer for another day. After adding the meat, the pot was full again. So I will definitely be freezing some of the meat sauce as well (about 2 cups). I do love having sauces in the freezer for a rainy day (or most likely a stayed-late-at-work day).
Tomato sauce can be really easy to make, but it can also be high maintenance. You want to make sure the sauce isn't boiling tos much, so you might have to stir every one once in a while. But its really easy and much less maintenance to put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and turn it on before you head to work in the morning.
The stuffing for the shells is pretty healthy, especially for a cheese mixture. I use part-skim ricotta instead of full-fat. I add a little pecorino-romano for added flavor. If you don't like pecorino, you could add parmesan. The added veggies help boost the fiber content, and work as a low-calorie filler. Without the veggies in the mix, you would end up with more ricotta cheese in each shell and therefore more calories per shell. The filling made enough to stuff 26 jumbo shells.
What you'll need:
Sauce:
- 2 can (28oz each) crushed tomato
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 4 oz semi dry white wine
- 2/3 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 4 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 lb lean ground beef
Stuffed Shells:
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup finely chopped zucchini
- 1/4 cup chopped spinach
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 cup shredded pecorino-romano cheese
- 1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta
- 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
What to do:
Preheat oven to 350.F.
1. For the sauce: use a slow cooker. OR Saute onions and garlic in olive oil for 4 minutes; add wine and simmer 3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 30 minutes to an hour.
2. For the shells: cook shells 3 minutes less than suggestion on the box. Drain but do NOT rinse. Saute onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and garlic in olive oil over medium heat 4 minutes. Let cool. Mix together cooked veggies with the rest of the ingredients. Stuff par-cooked shells.
3. Cover the bottom of a large rectangle or square baking dish with meat sauce. Lay stuffed shells tightly together in rows. Cover shells with 1 1/2 - 2 cups meat sauce. Bake at 350*F 25 - 30 minutes.
Tomato sauce can be really easy to make, but it can also be high maintenance. You want to make sure the sauce isn't boiling tos much, so you might have to stir every one once in a while. But its really easy and much less maintenance to put all the ingredients in a slow cooker and turn it on before you head to work in the morning.
The stuffing for the shells is pretty healthy, especially for a cheese mixture. I use part-skim ricotta instead of full-fat. I add a little pecorino-romano for added flavor. If you don't like pecorino, you could add parmesan. The added veggies help boost the fiber content, and work as a low-calorie filler. Without the veggies in the mix, you would end up with more ricotta cheese in each shell and therefore more calories per shell. The filling made enough to stuff 26 jumbo shells.
What you'll need:
Sauce:
- 2 can (28oz each) crushed tomato
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 4 oz semi dry white wine
- 2/3 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 4 1/2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 lb lean ground beef
Stuffed Shells:
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup finely chopped zucchini
- 1/4 cup chopped spinach
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 cup shredded pecorino-romano cheese
- 1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta
- 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
What to do:
Preheat oven to 350.F.
1. For the sauce: use a slow cooker. OR Saute onions and garlic in olive oil for 4 minutes; add wine and simmer 3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 30 minutes to an hour.
2. For the shells: cook shells 3 minutes less than suggestion on the box. Drain but do NOT rinse. Saute onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and garlic in olive oil over medium heat 4 minutes. Let cool. Mix together cooked veggies with the rest of the ingredients. Stuff par-cooked shells.
3. Cover the bottom of a large rectangle or square baking dish with meat sauce. Lay stuffed shells tightly together in rows. Cover shells with 1 1/2 - 2 cups meat sauce. Bake at 350*F 25 - 30 minutes.
Yum! I think I am going to have to make this, I was just looking at a recipe for stuffed shells the other day :)
ReplyDeleteOh and this is Madison- I don't know why it didn't put my name
ReplyDeleteIt was quite delicious! and it makes a lot- so you have leftovers for later in the week or to put in the freezer. I hear dave hates pecorino cheese, so you might want to stick with just parmesan. enjoy!
ReplyDelete