blue artichoke

I had some dried manicotti shells in the cupboard, so I decided to go Italian last night. I made a filling with ricotta, cottage cheese, a shredded Italian cheese blend (Parmesan, mozzarella, Asiago) and spinach. I made the smoky marinara sauce called for in the recipe, using canned smoked tomatoes, and topped it all off with some more cheese. It was fairly easy to make, and I could do it early in the day and leave it in the fridge until I was ready to cook it. I also made a loaf of Italian pesto bread in my bread machine (using some of my frozen pesto!), and served that with some garlic-onion butter. Oh, yes, a good dinner indeed.

Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells with Smoky Marinara Recipe from Cooking Light, March 2003

This dish goes straight from the 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.

I halved recipe to make just one pan; we are but two diners here, and had plenty of leftovers. I also halved the marinara recipe, but used the full measures of garlic, vinegar, s/p, and dried basil, parsley and oregano. I substituted one package manicotti for the pasta shells; several were ripped or torn, but I had just enough filling to fill the whole ones, and laid the bits of the broken shells over top of stuffed shells. I also used a shredded cheese blend of Asiago, Parmesan and mozzarella, and dried chives and parsley.

1 pound jumbo shell pasta (40 shells)
Cooking spray
1 (12-ounce) carton 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1 (15-ounce) carton ricotta cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) 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 and drained
6 cups Smoky Marinara
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

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 (Asiago through spinach).

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. Repeat procedure with remaining stuffed shells, Smoky Marinara, and mozzarella in remaining prepared dish.

Cover with foil. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

To freeze unbaked casserole: Prepare through Step 5. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to remove as much air as possible. Wrap with heavy-duty foil. Store in freezer for up to 2 months.

To prepare frozen unbaked casserole: Preheat oven to 375º. Remove foil; reserve foil. Remove plastic wrap; discard wrap. Cover frozen casserole with reserved foil; bake at 375º for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the shells are thoroughly heated.

Yield: 2 casseroles, 5 servings per dish (serving size: about 4 stuffed shells and about 1/2 cup smoky marinara)

CALORIES 470 (30% from fat); FAT 15.7g (satfat 8.8g, monofat 4.7g, polyfat 0.9g); PROTEIN 28.3g; CARBOHYDRATE 52.7g; FIBER 5.3g; CHOLESTEROL 47mg; IRON 3.8mg; SODIUM 916mg; CALCIUM 508mg;
Cooking Light, MARCH 2003

Smoky Marinara

Look for fire-roasted tomatoes (we used Muir Glen) in the organic section or with the canned tomatoes in your supermarket.

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (28-ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, basil, parsley, and oregano; sauté 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in vinegar and remaining ingredients. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.

Yield: 6 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)

CALORIES 55 (20% from fat); FAT 1.2g (sat 0.2g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 2.3g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 49mg; SODIUM 350mg; FIBER 2.3g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2003