Yule Manicotti With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

ournal as: 1 portion "light frozen dinner or vegetarian with light
sauce" OR 1/4 cup starch without added fat + 1 ounce low-fat cheese +
1/2 vegetables with 1 teaspoon fat.

If you're feeding a crowd, double the recipe. Set each manicotti on
top of a small pool of red pepper sauce on the dinner plate, or serve
them with an ample drizzle of the red pepper sauce on top. If you want
to skip the roasting-the-peppers step, substitute 1 cup of bottled
roasted red peppers for the 2 sweet red peppers.

8 large dried manicotti pasta shells (or similar)
2 sweet red peppers
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste (optional)
1 1/2 cups low-fat or part-skim ricotta cheese
3/4 cup firmly packed, frozen chopped spinach (thawed, with excess
water gently squeezed out)
6 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup prepared pesto sauce (like Armanino, found in the frozen pasta
section)
4 green onions, white and part of green, chopped
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with canola cooking
spray. Boil manicotti shells according to directions on package until tender.
Drain, rinse with cold water, and carefully set aside. While manicotti is boiling,
turn on the broiler. Cut each red pepper into quarters and remove inside flesh and
seeds. Cut each quarter in half to make eight strips total. Lay strips, skin side
down, on a nonstick baking sheet (line with foil for easy cleanup, if desired).
Brush the tops of pepper strips with olive oil. Broil until the top sides are
nicely brown, watching carefully. Flip and broil until brown. Let peppers cool
slightly. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, puree pepper strips
with milk, garlic, and pepper to taste. Add salt to taste if desired. Keep sauce
at a low simmer in a small, covered, nonstick saucepan while you bake the
manicotti. Mix filling ingredients (ricotta, spinach, Parmesan cheese, pesto,
green onions, and Italian seasonings) in a bowl with spoon or fork. Stuff shells
with the cheese mixture. Arrange in a baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 15
minutes, then uncover and bake 10 minutes more. Serve one or two manicotti shells
per person; decorate each shell with ample red pepper sauce.

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