Meatless Manicotti

Once again, I have to rely on my dear friends at Cooking Light. The other night I had a craving for some comfort food, that was easy to make and wouldn't cost too much. There is this amazing manicotti recipe in the 2010 special edition issue of Cooking Light. I have made it numerous times and each time its as wonderful as the last. It's so cheesy, plus the tomato-basil sauce really adds a nice flavor enhancer. If you decide to make this recipe, use the basil sauce for real. Any other and it doesn't have the same awesome potency.

Ingredients include:
-2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided 
-1 (16-ounce) carton fat-free cottage cheese 
-1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry 
-1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
-1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 
-1/4 teaspoon salt 
-1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
-1 (8-ounce) package manicotti (14 shells) 
-1 (26-ounce) jar fat-free tomato-basil pasta sauce 
-Cooking spray 
-1 cup water

First step: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  

Second Step: Combine 1 1/2 mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, and the next 5 ingredients (up til the black pepper) in a medium sized bowl. 

Third Step: 
Spoon about 3 tablespoons or more of the cheese mixture in each uncooked manicotti shell. I just stuffed until all the space was full. 

Fourth Step: 
Pour half of the tomato sauce in a 13 X 9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. 

Fifth Step: 
Arrange all the 14 stuffed shells onto the baking dish. 


Sixth Step: 
Once all the shells have been arranged, pour the remainder of the sauce evenly over the shells. Add the cup of water into the dish. Then sprinkle with the remainder of the mozz cheese. Cover with foil. It should look like this..

Last Step: 
Bake in your 375 degree oven for an hour or until the shells are tender. Let cool before serving :) 

The day I made this I was very happy with myself. I had said earlier that day that I would not drive my car and that I would walk to the grocery store. We have an Ingles in West Asheville that's about three blocks from our apartment. So I got my backpack and a few reusable bags, left my purse behind and just took my phone and wallet, and headed off to the store by foot! It wasn't too bad. While walking home I worried about the shells and eggs getting crushed on the way home! But luckly all the food made it back to the apartment safe and sound! 


If you live close to the grocery store, I highly recommend walking or taking your bike out to run errands :) It saves on fuel plus you get some exercise in the process!


"Ants Marching" -Dave Matthews