I wish these were more photogenic

Chicken Manicotti with Red Pepper Cream Sauce
Better Homes and Gardens Low-Fat & Luscious Italian Copyright 1997

12 manicotti or 18 jumbo shells
1 8-ounce package reduced-fat cream cheese, cut up
¾ cup skim milk
½ of a 7-ounce jar roasted red sweet peppers (about ½ cup), drained and chopped or one 4-ounce jar diced pimiento, drained I used the roasted peppers
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 9-ounce package (2 cups) frozen diced cooked chicken I used poached chicken tenders
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water; drain well.

Meanwhile, for sauce, in heavy saucepan stir cream cheese and ¼ cup of the milk over medium-low heat until smooth. Stir in remaining milk. Stir in sweet peppers or pimiento and Parmesan cheese; heat through. I added a bit of salt.

For filling, in a large bowl stir together ¾ cup of the sauce (set remaining sauce aside), the chicken, broccoli, onion and black pepper. Using a small spoon, stuff each manicotti with about ¼ cup of the filling or each jumbo shell with 2 to 3 tablespoons filling. Bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until through.

To serve, cook and stir remaining sauce over low heat until heated through. Place 2 manicotti or 3 shells on each serving plate. Spoon sauce over shells. I put the sauce over the manicotti before baking. I also had about 2 tablespoons of mozzarella/provolone blend that I sprinkled over them with some additional Parmesan.

Makes 6 servings.
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I should have put more effort into getting a nice picture of these manicotti because they were really good and they deserve a better picture. I just love the combination of chicken, broccoli and cheese. I would definitely make these again. I made them the night before and they held up great. Honestly, I was hesitant to make these. I just wasn't sure they would be good but I took a chance and I'm glad I did.

Blast From The Past: Sausage Stuff Shells with Chunky Tomato Sauce from April 2006. The sauce wasn't that good (the canned tomatoes I used were awful), but the stuffing was great. However it was very rich. After making last night's manicotti, I'm picturing a lighter version of the sausage stuffed shells using turkey sausage and a low-fat cream cheese sauce.

Question of the Day: Did you know that Christmas is less than 3 weeks away??? Arghhhh!!!!!