I’m always looking for a way to lighten comfort food because, I’ll admit it; emotional eating is a friend of mine. Whether celebrating or wallowing in sorrows, getting my mouth around a good meal always makes things better.  Everyone at my house agrees that pasta is a go-to comfort food; spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, raviolis – you get the picture! This carb and cheese fest doesn’t really fit my higher protein day-to-day diet, typically if we’re doing spaghetti, I just take a taste of the noodles and a heaping helping of the sauce.

Man, oh man; wouldn’t it be comforting to have some manicotti for dinner tonight? These long tubes of pasta stuffed with meat and cheese — the word is derived from an Italian diminutive for “sleeve,” which is exactly what they are! At restaurants, I’ve had “manicotti” wrapped in zucchini and eggplant instead of a noodle, but I didn’t want to scare the kids off immediately. Instead, I stuck with a traditional recipe and made some healthy swaps. For example, I chopped up zucchini and other veggies into almost a mince so they would be discretely hanging out in the filling – like, “who me, a piece of squash? Ya, no big deal.”  I also substituted the heavy ricotta cheese with low-fat cottage cheese and kept the mozzarella to a minimum –just a skosh in the filling and a bit sprinkled on top. And, of course, our family favorite lean ground beef (more nutritious than ground turkey, people) was the meaty, mouthwatering source of protein.

The recipe makeover turned out scrumptious. The kids ate some unchartered-territory vegetables (red bell pepper) with nary a complaint – even from my youngest who likes to share his disgusted opinion about everything!  The other beauty of this family meal is that you can make ahead – or double the batch and keep one in the freezer for next month!

Skinny Mama Beef & Veggie Manicotti Recipe

• 1 8-ounce package manicotti (14 tubes)
• 1 pound lean ground beef sirloin
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 ½ cups finely chopped veggies of your choice (I used sweet onion, red onion, red bell pepper, and zucchini)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 16 ounces low-fat cottage cheese*
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• 6 ounces low-fat shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)
• 1 16-ounce jar marinara sauce
• Garnish: red bell pepper rings.

1. In large pot, bring water to boil. Carefully add manicotti tubes and boil for approximately 8 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, brown ground beef in skillet over medium heat, drain off any liquid. Set beef aside and add olive oil to skillet. Sauté chopped veggies until soft-crisp, approximately 3 minutes. Add in garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and continue to cook for 1 more minute, stirring continuously.
3. In large bowl, add cooked ground beef, sautéed veggies, 16 ounces cottage cheese, whisked egg, and 3 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese.
4. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Spread approximately 2/3 cup sauce in bottom of 9”x13” baking dish.  Carefully, stuff each tube with beef and cheese mixture using a teaspoon. Line up stuffed manicotti in baking dish. If any mixture remains, spoon it into sides of baking dish.
5. Top with remaining marinara sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Garnish with red bell pepper rings, if desired.
6. Bake in 350 F degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is bubbling on top.Serves 7 (2 each)

Since this was a makeover recipe, I ran the nutrition information — my version cuts the calories in half with 326 calories per a two manicotti serving versus 668 for traditional manicotti! Plus, 12 grams of fat is totally reasonable for a recipe so gooey and comforting. Plus, with everything I’ve learned about protein consumption, the 29 grams of protein is in the optimal range amount for any given meal.

If you’re using onions as one of your veggies in this recipe (or any recipe), check out this video from Cooking Light that shows how to easily chop an onion. I never thought to slice an onion lengthwise first – genius!  Now, my tip on chopping onions is to dip your knife in water with every few slices – this will cut down on the noxious fumes that make eyes water. Yay, no more crying!

This post was shared by The Beef Checkoff.