Beef and Sausage Manicotti

INGREDIENTS:

¾ lb 95% lean ground beef
¾ lb hot Italian poultry sausage (turkey or chicken sausage is fine)
1 cup finely diced mushrooms
½ cup finely diced green peppers
1 garlic clove, minced
1 ¼ cup fat free Ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil
8 oz (14 noodle) box of manicotti noodles (I used Barilla)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
8 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil
1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
¾ cup shredded 2% Mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
In a large skillet or saute pan, cook the ground beef and sausage together over medium heat, breaking them up into small pieces as they cook. Once the meat is almost cooked through, add the mushrooms and green peppers. Continue to cook for a few more minutes until meat is completely cooked through and peppers and mushrooms are softened. Add a clove of minced garlic, stir and cook for an additional minute. Remove the contents of the pan to a mixing bowl and allow to cool. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the Ricotta cheese and tablespoon of basil.
Set a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the manicotti noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse noodles.
While waiting for the water to boil in step 3, bring a teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add the chopped onion and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until onions are softened. Add the 2 cloves of minced garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, tablespoon of basil, Italian seasoning, salt, sugar and the bay leaf to the onion mixture and reduce heat to low to simmer. Stir to combine and let simmer for around 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf before using the sauce in the dish.
When the other steps are complete, spread about 2/3 cup of the sauce across the bottom of the prepared baking dish from step 1. Use a spoon to stuff each of the cooked manicotti noodles with the meat/ricotta mixture you made in step two and lay them in the dish (feel free to cram them in there or pile a few extras on top). Cover the stuffed manicotti with the remaining tomato sauce and then sprinkle with shredded Mozzarella.
Place the dish in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until heated through and bubbly.

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER 2 PIECE SERVING:

9 Smartpoints
385 calories, 42 g carbs, 13 g sugars, 9 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 33 g protein, 6 g fiber

9 SmartPoints