Not So Doughie: Quick & Simple Manicotti

-- a weeknight meal --

Now that my parsnip & carrot soup was gone (no one else wanted to eat it) I decided to get back into the kitchen. Weeknights always go by so fast. My 45 minute commute causes me to get home at 6:45pm (with mild traffic, heavy traffic well that just makes me crabby). When Chase is with us I try to cook each night. It is a time when the three of us can sit together at the dinner table and time can, hopefully, slow down for a minute. On nights with Chase, I try to come up with quick dinners so that not so much time is spent in the kitchen, but together. The kid has a pretty large palate for an 8 year old so I'm not serving "kid foods" which is great. I think it is important to grow up being adventurous with food and to expose kids to all types of flavors. I especially encourage lots of veggies and minimal fat.

Tonight I decided to create my quick and easy spinach stuffed manicotti. The "semi-homemade" meal is very easy and simple Italian weeknight meal. The manicotti shells were served with a slice of garlic bread - made by Bryan :) I typically serve a vegetable with all meals, but the shells were stuffed with a ton of spinach, which my family loves. The weather outside was perfectly crisp, but still warm. Bryan suggested eating outside on our balcony and so Chase gathered the candles. We enjoyed our romantic dinner for three outside on this beautiful night. Enjoy!

Quick & Simple Manicotti

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 4

WW Plus Points: 7 points for 2 shells

Ingredients:

8 manicotti shells (one broke for me so good to make extra)

2/3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

8 oz part-skim ricotta

1/2 jar PREGO fresh mushroom marinara (or your favorite marinara sauce, or homemade)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Urban Accents ROMA (found HERE)

5 oz frozen chopped spinach, cooked and squeezed of excess water

pinch of red pepper flakes

salt & pepper

1 zip lock bag

garnish (parsley, kale)

ingredients

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil and gently drop the manicotti shells in and boil for about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, in a baking dish pour about 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce and spread it all around the bottom. Sprinkle the pinch of red pepper flakes into the sauce.

In a bowl, combine 1/3 cup of mozzarella, ricotta, garlic powder, spinach, Roma, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

When the shells are about al dente remove from the boiling water. Put them into the freezer for about 3-4 minutes to cool. Spoon the manicotti mixture into the plastic bag. Snip one corner about 1/4 inch. This device will help you pipette the mixture into the cooked shells.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When cool, gently hold the shells and squeeze in the spinach ricotta mixture. Place the filled shell into the sauce coated baking dish.

Once all are filled, pour the rest of the marinara sauce over the shells. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on each shell (two of mine without - Chase isn't big on cheese). Bake uncovered about 10 minutes then broil from about 2 minutes to brown the top.