Pumpkin-Faux Ricotta Stuffed Shells

In the spirit of all things pumpkin, I decided to try a recipe I found in Real Simple and add a healthy twist I found in Kimberly Snyder's book, The Beauty Detox. 

Instead of using fattening ricotta cheese, I made my own faux-ricotta with pine nuts.

2TBS fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup water

2 TBS Bragg Liquid Aminos

3/4 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt

1 medium garlic clove

2 cups of pine nuts

In a blender, add the lemon juice, water and Bragg Liquid Aminos, then the garlic and pine nuts.  

Blend until creamy.

Without further adieu, here is the full recipe:

24 jumbo pasta shells (opt for gluten-free if you can!)

1 can of pumpkin puree

*The faux-ricotta from above

2 ounces of parmesan cheese

1 large egg white

1 minced garlic cloves

1 cup of fresh basil, chopped

1 TBS finely chopped fresh sage

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 jar of tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. Cook the pasta shells and set aside to cool

2. Mix the pine nuts and other ingredients in a blender to make faux ricotta and set aside

3. Stir together the faux ricotta, pumpkin and remaining other ingredients (except the tomato sauce)

4. Spread the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan and fill each shell with the faux cheesy mixture.  Arrange the shells in rows.

Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the shells with parmesan cheese and bake for 15 more minutes.  

Enjoy with a healthy green salad!

The tomato sauce adds a great flavor to the pumpkin

This dish takes about 20 minutes hands-on time!