Spinach and Cheese Manicotti

On one of our recent vegetarian nights, we decided to try a recipe from Cooking Light Family Favorites Cookbook (9780848727260). We've had this cookbook for quite some time, yet don't use it very often. Which is a shame as it does contain some tasty recipes, such as this one:

As you can tell, we enjoyed it with french bread and a tasty side salad.

• 8 manicotti shells, cooked, drained, and set aside
• 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, cooked, drained, and pressed well to remove excess moisture
• 2 t. olive oil
• 2/3 C. finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 C. freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 (15 oz.) carton light ricotta cheese
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/4 t. dried crushed red pepper
• 1/8 t. ground nutmeg
• 2 C. fat-free spaghetti sauce

1. Coat a medium saucepan with cooking spray; add oil. Place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; saute 8 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to a bowl. Add spinach, 1/4 C. Parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, egg, red pepper, and nutmeg.
2. Stir well. Stuff into shells.
3. Spread 1/2 C. spaghetti sauce in a 13 by 9 inch baking dish.
4. Place filled shells over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over shells.
5. Cover and bake at 375 degrees F. for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 C. Parmesan cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

A couple of notes on this recipe - we used one egg rather than two egg whites. Since we only ever use farm fresh eggs, we're okay with the little bit of extra fat and calories there. Also, we found it not quite spicy enough for us so would totally add more crushed red pepper next time. It did make the keep pile though.

Comments

[Katrina]

Yum!! Why do I always forget that I love manicotti?