Healthy Recipes To Get You Through Spring: Haylie Duff Shares Favorite Dishes To Keep Family Satisfied

Spring is just around the corner and luckily lifestyle entertainer, Haylie Duff, shared with Latin Times some fun and quick healthy recipes to keep our family and friends satisfied during the season. “I wasn’t always great in the kitchen…I made a lot of mistakes! But I wasn’t giving up,” The Real Girl’s Kitchen star said on her blog, revealing a secret about how she loves using disposable heat and eat containers because she can make a big batch of food for dinner, and then pack the rest for lunch the next day or easily send her dining guests home with leftovers. Scroll down to learn how to simple is to make stuffed shells, healthy turkey and veggie chili, and a delicious slow cooker spinach and artichoke dip that will leave you licking your fingers.

Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

• 1 pound box large shell pasta
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese, store bought or homemade
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups freshly grated mozzarella
• 3 1/2 cups tomato sauce, store bought or homemade

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the shells according to the package instructions, making sure to cook them a bit al dente. Gently fold together ricotta, parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, lemon zest and 1 cup of the mozzarella in a bowl.

Fill cooked shells with 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture each. Spoon a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan, about 2 1/2 cups. Place filled shells on top of the sauce; do not overcrowd. Top shells with the remaining 1 cup tomato sauce.

Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes; remove foil and cook until the cheese is fully melted and browned on top, an additional 5 minutes. Finish with chopped parsley and serve.

Tip: Add extra sauce when saving leftovers in Reynolds heat and eat disposable containers.

Healthy Turkey & Veggie Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 1 pound ground turkey, both dark and white meat
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
• Two 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes with their liquid
• 1 large carrot, cut (1 inch pieces)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 15-ounce can sweet corn
• 2 small zucchini, diced
• 1/4 cup fine cornmeal
• Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving (optional)
• Grated Cheddar, for serving (optional)
• Sour cream, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add ground turkey and paprika, and cook until the meat is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Add ancho chile, cumin and 1 tablespoon kosher salt, and cook for 1 minute. Stir while cooking. Add tomatoes, carrot and chicken stock, and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer. Add corn and zucchini and stir well. Simmer, uncovered, until the chili begins to darken and thicken slightly, about 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring occasionally throughout to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Stir in cornmeal and cook another 15 minutes, season with salt and pepper. Serve on top of rice, with chopped cilantro, grated Cheddar and sour cream for topping if desired.

Slow Cooker Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 8-ounce boxes of frozen artichoke hearts, rough chop
• 3 10-ounce boxes of frozen spinach
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (you can substitute Swiss, if you cannot find gruyere)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

Directions:

Add olive oil, jalapeño, onion and garlic to slow cooker on low heat. Add 2 (8oz) boxes of frozen artichoke hearts and 3 (10oz) boxes of frozen spinach. Add Greek yogurt, ricotta, gruyere and mozzarella. Add kosher salt, black pepper, cayenne and nutmeg. Place lid on top.

After 20 minutes, stir once to combine all ingredients. Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours or on 2 hours on high heat. Serve with crudité, pita, crackers, baguette or crostini.