Chicken Manicotti with Chive-Cream Sauce

• 12 Packaged dried manicotti shells
• 1 8-oz container soft-style cream cheese with chives and onion
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (10 oz)
• 1 10-oz package frozen chopped broccoli ,thawed and drained
• 1/2 of a 7-oz jar roasted red sweet peppers, drained and sliced, or one 4-oz jar diced pimiento, drained
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook manicotti shells according to package directions. Drain shells; rinse with cold water. Drain again.

Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small heavy saucepan melt cream cheese over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Slowly add milk, stirring until smooth. Stir in Romano or Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat.

For filling, in a medium mixing bowl, stir together 3/4 cup of the sauce, chicken, broccoli, roasted red sweet peppers or pimiento, and black pepper. Using a small spoon, carefully fill each manicotti shell with about 1/3 cup of filling.

Arrange the filled shells in a 3-quart rectangular backing dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells. Sprinkle with paprika. cover with foil. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 396 calories, 25 g protein, 31 g carbohydrate, 18g fat (9 saturated), 92 mg cholesterol, 257 mg sodium

Notes: This is really easy, the stuffing can take a little getting used to if you've never done it before like me. We use whole wheat pasta, healthier for you and in my opinion tastes better. I would double the recipe to the sauce. It worked out okay for us but next time I think I will double up on the sauce, it is VERY good. Don't cook all 12 noodles, as it says makes 6 servings. The roasted peppers that we found came in like a 16 oz jar where condiments were. There weren't many choices so be thorough when browsing for it.

Resource: Easy Everyday Cooking