Six-Million Dollar Manicotti

Six-Million Dollar Manicotti
from the Centennial Ward Cookbook
recipe submitted by Liz Rawson (but she has never made it!!)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 C finely chopped onions
 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into small pieces
1 C each grated carrots, grated zucchini, and finely chopped mushrooms
3 T minced, fresh basil, or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried
1 T minced, fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 oz light cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 C part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
12 manicotti shells, uncooked
3 C of your favorite low-fat, tomato-based pasta sauce
1/2 cup shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese (2 ounces)
Chopped, fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

To Make Filling:

Spray a large, non-stick skillet with non-stick spray. Add garlic and onions. Cook and stir over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.

Add chicken, increase heat to medium-high, and cook until no longer pink. Add carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, basil, oregano, and pepper. Cook for 3 more minutes. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in ricotta and Parmesan cheeses. Transfer filling to a large bowl and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

While filling is chilling, cook manicotti according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain well.

Using a teaspoon, stuff shells equally with filling. Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce over bottom of 2 baking dishes. Arrange 6 stuffed manicotti in each dish. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti and sprinkle with mozzarella.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

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Notes:  The recipe says to cut the chicken small... I didn't cut it small enough.  It has to fit easily into a manicotti tube.  I didn't have Parmesan cheese, so I used mozzarella cheese in the filling.  Oh, and I doubled the recipe!

Verdict:  This made 28 manicotti tubes (remember... I doubled it) so we invited my parents over for dinner.  We still ended up with maybe 12 as leftovers.  Kaleigh freaked when she came out and saw me stuffing the tubes.  She said... no way, no how will I eat that.  She had seconds.

Enough said!!!

We LOVED this.  It was unanimous!!!