Shrimp Stuffed Shells

Shallots, have you ever heard of them before? If you have well, this recipe was the first time I used them. I have to say that I love garlic and I love onions. Shallots are like a garlicky onion, basically my one true food love. Absolutely delicious! Trying to find a shallot was kind of difficult for me the grocery store I went to didn’t carry them. I had never bought or used them before so I wasn’t sure what they looked like. I took a guess and said they were a root vegetable. Lucky! Oh by the way, Wal-Mart carries shallots, but the grocery store didn’t, how strange is that?

I have been trying to stay away from bread, rice, and pasta lately but sometimes you just need a little yummy pasta goodness to make you feel alive! J This was actually rather low in calories; you could have 4 stuffed shells for 496 calories. A few tips though before making this:

1.      Do all of your prep work AHEAD of time, get everything chopped and measured out before beginning because this preparation goes quick!

2.      Boil a few extra shells just in case a few rip during the process.

So here it is, my version of shrimp-stuffed shells!

Ingredients

·         20 uncooked jumbo pasta shells

·         1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil

·         ½ cups shallots

·         2 tablespoons bottled minced garlic

·         ½ cups 1/3 less fat cream cheese

·         ¼ cup 2% reduced fat milk

·         ¼ teaspoon white pepper

·         1/3 cup chopped basil

·         1 lb medium or jumbo shrimp peeled, deveined, and chopped

·         1 tablespoons corn starch

·         Cooking spray

·         3 cups low sodium marinara sauce, divided

·         1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese blend

This is after sauteing the shallots and garlic, adding the milk and cream cheese.

After the cheese mixture is done, stuff the shells and add them to the dish.

Then add 2 cups more sauce and sprinkle cheese on top.

Doesn't that look yummy?

Then bake!

Helloooooo yummy goodness!

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Cook pasta 7 minutes or until almost done. Drain.

3. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add cream cheese, milk, and pepper; cook until cheese melts, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in basil. Place shrimp in a bowl. Sprinkle with corn starch; toss with your fingers to coat well. Add cream cheese mixture to shrimp; stir well.

4. Divide shrimp mixture evenly among pasta shells. Coat a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray making sure to get the sides good, spread 1 cup marinara over bottom of dish. Arrange shells in prepared dish; top with remaining 2 cups marinara. Sprinkle shells evenly with cheese. Bake at 400° for 30 – 35 minutes or until shrimp is done.

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