Do you love Italian American style cheesy, tomatoey comfort food? Think lasagna, stuffed shells, baked pasta, etc? This meal is just as satisfying but its a great vegetarian dinner that does not include pasta. We all love pasta, right? But its not good to eat it all the time, especially if you have a gluten free person in your life or you are thinking ahead to spring break….eek.
I’m all for variety and sweet potatoes have so much to offer. They are a nutrient dense superfood, filled with fiber and antioxidants. Aside from all that, they are so delicious! I love sweet potatoes and am always looking for new ways to prepare them. Looking through my fridge, I noticed a half empty tub of cottage cheese (another thing I have been craving so much lately) and knew just what to do. Make stuffed shells but use sweet potatoes instead of noodles. I have a go to cottage cheese, parm, egg blend that I use for all my baked pasta dishes so this was a cinch to prepare. My favorite cottage cheese brand, Good Culture, has about 14 grams protein per serving so this meal really has it all.
What you need:
4 small sweet potatoes
1/2 cup full fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 tsp of salt and pepper
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup marinara sauce
4 slices mozzarella cheese
Begin by preheating the oven to 450 and washing your sweet potatoes. Put them in the oven for about 30 minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a fork. It’s a good idea to bake your sweet potatoes on a tray because they can leak and its hard to clean the sticky mess they can leave on the bottom of the oven. Meanwhile, stir together the cottage cheese, Parmesan, egg, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning in a bowl. When that is throughly mixed, stir in the spinach. Remove the baked sweet potatoes from the oven and allow to cool until they are easy to handle. Now slice the potatoes down the center lengthwise but do not pierce all the way through. Scoop out a small spoonful of flesh from each potato and open them up slightly so they will be easy to fill. (I fed the extra sweet potato spoonfuls to my dogs with their dinner and they’ve never been happier).
In a small baking dish, pour half the marinara sauce on the bottom and spread it out to cover the bottom of the dish. Place the potatoes on top and spoon the cottage cheese mixture into each potato. Pour the remaining marinara on top of the sweet potatoes and then add a slice of mozzarella cheese to the top of each one. Turn down the oven to 350 and bake for about 20 minutes until the mozzarella has thoroughly melted and begins to brown on top. Enjoy : )
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