Description[]
Source: Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2004 - Cooking Light Magazine
This dish goes straight from freezer to oven - no thawing required. The fire-roasted tomatoes in the marinara sauce give the dish a subtle smoky flavor. You can also easily vary the filling by adding basil or oregano and a different cheese. (we tried fontina instead of mozzarella and threw in some arugula for a peppery bite.) Make some garlic bread and a green salad, and dinner's on.
QUICK TIP: The only downside to stuffed shells or manicotti is getting the filling into the pasta. Using a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag as a pastry bag works great. Simply spoon the filling into the plastic bag, squeeze out the air, snip a 1-inch hole in one corner of the bag, and pipe the filling into the shells. Snip a small hole to start with; you can always make it bigger.
Ingredients[]
- 1 pound uncooked jumbo shell pasta (40 shells)
- Cooking spray
- 1 (12-ounce) carton 1% low-fat cottage cheese
- 1 (15-ounce) carton ricotta cheese
- 1 cup (4ounces) shredded Asiago cheese
- 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
- 6 cups Smoky Marinara, divided
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
Directions[]
- Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
- Drain and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375° .
- Coat 2 (13 x 9-inch) baking dishes with cooking spray; set aside.
- Place cottage cheese and ricotta cheese in a food processor; process until smooth.
- Combine cottage cheese mixture, Asiago, and next 6 ingredients.
- Spoon or pipe 1 tablespoon cheese mixture into each shell.
- Arrange half of stuffed shells, seam sides up, in one prepared dish.
- Pour 3 cups Smoky Marinara over stuffed shells.
- Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella in remaining prepared dish.
- Cover with foil.
- Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Yield: 2 casseroles, 5 servings per dish (serving size: about 4 stuffed shells and about 1/2 cup Smoky Marinara)