Stuff Your Shell (v)

If you know me, you know that I love cheese. Well, that's kind of an understatement. I adore it. I think about it all the time. However, since I have discovered that my tummy doesn't like cheese as much as my taste buds do, I've been learning to make some slight adjustments. One huge dilemma was: how do I make stuffed shells with ricotta cheese? Duh, tofu.

What you need:
1/2 block of extra firm tofu
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 bag of spinach
1 1/2 C. of mushrooms, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
dash of red pepper flake, unless you like it spicy, then go crazy! (of course this is totally optional)
dash of oregano
1 box of jumbo shells

What you do:
Preheat oven to 350.

Toss the cubed tofu into a blender with the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Blend until it looks like ricotta cheese. Set aside in a medium sized bowl.

Cook the jumbo shells according to the directions on the box.

Saute the minced garlic in some olive oil and toss in the mushrooms. Then throw in the spinach and let it cook down. If your using frozen spinach, let it thaw and then toss in with the garlic and mushrooms. Once cooked, mix into the bowl with the "ricotta cheese". ;)

Remove the shells from the water (careful not to break them!) and let cool. Once the shells have cooled down, stuff the shells with the spinach, mushroom and "cheese" mixture. Place stuffed shells into a baking dish. After the dish has been filled, cover with your favorite tomato sauce. Cover with tin foil. Pop the shells into a the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Turn off oven, remove tin foil and bake for another 5 minutes.

Enjoy with a yummy salad and a nice glass of wine.