Skillet Pasta Florentine

Skillet Pasta Florentine

3  Cups  uncooked Spiral Pasta, whole wheat pasta preferred

1  Egg, beaten



2  Cups  Cottage Cheese
1 1/2  Cups  Ricotta Cheese
1  10-oz.  frozen Spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
1  Cup  Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1  teaspoon  Dried Parsley
1  teaspoon  Dried Oregano
1  teaspoon  Dried  Basil
1  jar (14-oz.)  Meatless Spaghetti Sauce
2  Tablespoons  grated Parmesan Cheese

Cook Pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the Egg, Cottage Cheese, Ricotta, Spinach, 1/2 Cup Mozzarella, and Herbs.
Drain Pasta.  Place half of the Spaghetti Sauce in a large skillet; layer with Pasta and remaining Sauce.  Top with Cheese mixture.
Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover an cook for 25-30 minutes, or until a thermometer reads 160*.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and remaining Mozzarella; cover and cook 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This is a great meatless dinner; it has enough Cheese in it that the children don't complain about the Spinach.  I've made this several times, but when I went to make this last week it had all the beginnings of an Epic Fail:  for some reason I had forgotten to buy the Ricotta.  What to do, what to do....  Rush to the freezer, pull out and micro-defrost 1 lb. Turkey Italian Sausage.  Brown that real quick, add it to the Spaghetti Sauce (which I had forgotten to read the amount for, and was using a very full Quart of--over double the amount needed!), and start layering it in the skillet.  Oooppss! too full of a skillet, lid won't fit on, starts to boil over....  Quickly cover it with foil instead of the lid...  Well, when we finally did eat dinner, there was enough for the next night, too!  Gotta love improvising and leftovers!

From Healthy Cooking