Mock Manicotti

My husband has been asking for this recipe for awhile. I will admit it has been marked to make for awhile... and I FINALLY made it!

I will say before I put the recipe that:

1. Check out what is on sale! You'll notice that it calls for 24ozs of cottage cheese, well I could have bought the one 24oz tube for $4.95 OR two 14oz tubes for $3.

2. This is a vegetarian friendly recipe.

3. I found the filling to be double than originally called for. So I just boiled the rest of the noodles and took them with me to bible study, they where a big hit!

4. I liked them with MORE sauce, I found them a little bland if it didn't have enough sauce, I'm also going to add more seasoning next time. With so much cottage cheese it can be over powering, so I will tinker with the seasoning till I get it right for me. But everyone else enjoyed it, even the kiddos.

Now onto the recipe!

Mock Manicotti

3 cups (24 ozs) fat-free cottage cheese, drained
1 package (10 ozs) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 package (8 ozs) reduced-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
8 lasagna noodles, cooked, rinsed and drained
1 cup (4 ozs) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce, optional

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Spread 1/2 cup over each noodle; roll up jelly-roll style. Place seam side down in an 11-in x -in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Uncover; drizzle with spaghetti sauce if desired. Bake 10 minutes longer or until heated through.

 YIELD: 8 servings.

NUTRITION FACTS: 1 piece equals: 287 calories, 10g fat (7g saturated fat), 37 mg cholesterol, 454 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 22g protein.