Baked Stuffed Shells

Tried out this recipe for the first time Monday night and it was very good and hearty. The only bad thing I can say about this recipe is the preparation time. It took me about an hour before I was able to put the dish in the oven. So I will put a star by the ingredients that can be prepared before hand to make it easier to prepare dish. This dish make a lot so you can take it for lunch that week or this recipe would be great to make when you have company. You can eat a small mixed green salad on the side.

This recipe will serve 6 (serving size: 3stuffed shells, 1 cup of sauce)

Ingredients
Stuffing:
1/4 cup boiling water
6 sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) package reduced-fat firm tofu-optional, I did not use
1 egg, lightly beaten
18 cooked jumbo pasta shells *

Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 3/4 cups chopped onion (about 1 large), finely chop *
1 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium), finely chop *
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (about 1 medium), finely chop *
3 garlic cloves, minced
Cooking spray
3/4 pound low-fat turkey breakfast sausage, casings removed or lean ground beef (1/2 lb.)
1/4 cup red wine
2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (28-ounce) can organic crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare stuffing, combine 1/4 cup boiling water and sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl; let stand 20 minutes or until tomatoes soften. Drain and finely chop. Combine tomatoes, mozzarella, and next 6 ingredients (through egg) in a food processor; process until smooth. Spoon 2 tablespoons stuffing into each shell. Set stuffed shells aside.
To prepare sauce, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Place onion mixture in a bowl.
Coat pan with cooking spray; return pan to heat. Add sausage, and cook 6 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add wine; cook until wine is reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 3 minutes). Stir in onion mixture, tomato paste, and next 5 ingredients (through tomatoes); bring to a simmer. Cook 25 minutes or until slightly thick.
Spread 2 cups sauce over bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange stuffed shells in a single layer in pan; top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over sauce. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until bubbly.

-All the ingredients marked with a * means you can prepare them the night before if you have some extra time. I strongly recommend at least get all of your chopping done and even going ahead and cooking you shells the night before and just refridgerate them until needed.

Nutritional Information
Calories:391 (32% from fat)
Fat:13.8g (sat 4.8g,mono 5.2g,poly 2.3g)
Protein:27g
Carbohydrate:37.1g
Fiber:4.7g
Cholesterol:84mg
Iron:4mg
Sodium:892mg
Calcium:238mg

-Compliments of Cooking Light Magazine