Summer Veggie and Chicken Manicotti

I have to start by appologizing for being MIA in the blog world lately. Honestly, i've been too lazy to blog my food but have been cooking up some fabulous dishes. So, if and when I get around to it, I'll post what I remembered to photograph. Before I play catch-up though, I HAD to share tonight's meal. WHy might you ask? Well because this meal had my 4 year old eating the same amount I did! No really, my picky 20 month old ate two full manicotti while my 4 year old ate 3! That is A LOT of food! Not to mention, this is a GOOD food, stuffed with veggies and lean meat, YUM!

1 package of UNCOOKED manacotti (about 14 noodles)

2 chicken breasts (about 1 lb)

1 medium zuchinni

2 medium/small yellow summer squash

1/3 of a yellow or sweet onion

tablespoon of pre-minced garlic (If you are gonna use fresh stuff only use about 2 cloves)

fresh herbs (optional, I used about a TBSP of chopped basil and TBSP of chopped parsley)

1.5 cups of grape tomatos cut into 4ths

1 can of spaghetti sauce (I went with a cheap can of Hunt's sauce because that stuff is a little more watery, aiding in the cooking of the manicotti)

3/4 cup of water

1 pkg of shredded mozzarella (2 cups)

Alright, here we go. Preheat oven to 350. Dice all veggies and onion pretty small (dime size). Heat up a little oil in a large pan and saute your onion until translucent, add zuchinni and squash and keep cooking until nearly done, at this point  add your tomato and fresh herbs. Cook for about  more minutes and set aside.

Now, cut up your raw chicken into small pieces (about nickel sized). Season to taste (I used garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and salt). Cook this up but DO NOT overcook as it will be spending an hour in the oven anyways. Mix this with your veggies.

Mix your sauce and water. Pour about 1/2-3/4 cup of this sauce mix in the bottom of a 9x13 glass dish. Now, take those uncooked manicotti shells and stuff them with the veggie/chicken mixture. Using your fingers works best. The nice part? Using uncooked shells makes them so easy to stuff! Be sure to pack that stuff in there good and tight. Lay the manicotti in the glass pan. Pour any left over mix (including that juices and what-not in the bottom) over your stuffed manicotti. Pour the rest of your sauce over everything making sure to cover all exposed noodle!

Cover loosely with foil and bake for 55 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with cheese and put back in oven, uncovered for another 5 minutes.

Please excuse the terrible picture, it was an after thought :) ENJOY!