I love "Cooking for Real" on the Food Network, and I've recently begun to watch Sunny Anderson make some delicious - though very high-fat (it seems) - meals.
Stuff the shells with the chicken mixture with your hands. Once stuffed, place the manicotti in a 9 x 14 pan, and pour the rest of the sauce over them, making sure they are well-covered in sauce. If you need to add water to the sauce to make it go a little further, feel free. Top with pizza cheese and put into the oven for about 30 mins.
My favorite food, by far, is Mexican. During a recent show, she combined Mexican with Italian food in something she called a manilada - part manicotti, part enchilada. At some point, I'm going to give it a try! I took her manilada experiment and made a healthier, Italianish version of chicken manicotti.
Ingredients:
1 8oz. package of manicotti shells
2 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 T. basil
3 T. cilantro
1/2 c. Ricotta cheese
1 c. shredded pizza cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce, whatever you like
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil manicotti in salted water for about 8 mins. Drain, and allow manicotti shells to cool. In a medium skillet, heat oil and saute onion until translucent. Add garlic and saute for another min.
Shred rotisserie chicken (throw skin and bones away) and place in a large bowl. Add tomatoes, herbs, Ricotta and sauteed onion/garlic mixture. Mix together, and add about 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. spaghetti sauce, until mixture holds together easily.
Stuff the shells with the chicken mixture with your hands. Once stuffed, place the manicotti in a 9 x 14 pan, and pour the rest of the sauce over them, making sure they are well-covered in sauce. If you need to add water to the sauce to make it go a little further, feel free. Top with pizza cheese and put into the oven for about 30 mins.
So I made this the other day, and it was a big hit with me and my boyfriend! I made a few minor changes: I browned some ground chicken instead of shredding a rotissere, used canned tomatoes instead of fresh, and I added a little more ricotta cheese (b/c I love cheese!). The recipe was quick and easy and made lot...plenty for a day or two of leftovers, which works for me! Good recipe if you have several guests coming over too.