I'm in the anti-mushroom crowd so those got left out. I used frozen spinach instead of fresh and threw in a couple extra ounces of ricotta cheese. Oh and I topped it all with a handful of shredded mozzarella instead of just Parmesan cheese. See, told ya I ignored the recipe. Ack. And I added about a cup of chopped onions. Lord, I'm terrible at this! It turned out delicious though so I'm feeling no shame in that what so ever.
Not sure if I can really use it towards my goal of trying 52 new recipes but maybe? It was a completely new to me dish so I'm gonna fudge it a little and say yes.
Have you ever tried making Manicotti? What do you think of it? I thought it was kinda fun even if things did get a little messy trying to get them filled :)
Preheat over to 400 degrees. Serves 7
Recipe-ish:
1 box Manicotti
24 oz marinara sauce of your choice
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
15 oz ricotta cheese
salt/pepper to taste
a handful or two of onion, diced
12 oz frozen spinach, thawed, drained, chopped
1 cup Parmesan
2 Tbs water
- Cook Manicotti for 7 minutes, drain and cool on a sheet pan. Set aside.
- Heat oil with garlic and onions, saute. Season with salt and pepper
- Thaw and drain spinach then add to onions/garlic mixture.
- Mix ricotta, spinach and onions, half the parmesan and spoon into a large ziploc bag
- Snip one corner of the ziploc and use to fill each Manicotti shell
- Grease a 9x13 inch dish. Pour half of the marinara sauce and water into the bottom of the dish. Then add the stuffed Manicotti. Cover the Manicotti with the remaining sauce and Parmesan cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes
- At the very end I threw on shredded Mozzarella cheese and let that melt before removing from the oven
