Twenty minute meals are super important for my family.  I personally lose interest in cooking altogether if it takes much longer than that.  And in the summer, we spend so much of our day outside that it's hard to come inside to cook an elaborate meal.  I'm also a huge fan of dinners that I can cook over and over again with just slightly different ingredients for variation.

This recipe is super easy to follow and the variations you could make are endless.  Swap out the hamburger meat for ground turkey or sausage; change up the spinach with peas.  Use goat cheese instead of ricotta and toss in some red peppers.  Another trick is to always use a different pasta.  We've made them all over here and more.  It's a good way to clean out the fridge and it's always simple and good.


Cook a package of mini shell pasta according to the directions on the box.

While you wait for the water to boil, go ahead and brown one package of hamburger meat seasoned with oregano over medium heat until thoroughly cooked.  Reduce heat to low and leave on the stove top.

At this same time, steam a package of spinach and set aside.

To the cooked hamburger meat, add either 2 cups of jar tomato sauce or the contents of an entire can of Italian style crushed tomatoes.

Stir in a 1/4 of ricotta cheese.

Add the steamed spinach and mix well.

Add more tomato sauce as necessary and continue to mix.

Toss over cooked pasta and enjoy!