Manicotti

i made manicotti a few tuesday nights ago, and boy was it an adventure! i thought stuffing manicotti noodles would be fairly easy, but it's not. after cooking the pasta i discovered the insides of the noodles were stuck together, (maybe i didn't put enough oil in?) anyways, i filled up a plastic bag with the cheese mixture and cut a hole in the end of it. it was quite difficult to squeeze the cheese mixture into the noodles without splitting the sides of the pasta and/or the cheese mixture falling out.  i had quite a mess. the manicotti turned out to be very good and was definitely worth the mess.

 the manicotti

green beans that i served on the side with it.

Recipe:

Manicotti

1 (8oz.) pkg. manicotti

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 (15oz.) ctn. Ricotta cheese

1 (16oz.) ctn. cottage cheese

1 c. grated Mozzarella cheese

1/3c. Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. salt

1/4tsp. pepper

1 tsp. dried parsley

2 eggs

Sauce:

29 oz. tomato sauce

1 Tbsp. dried, minced onion

1 1/2tsp. basil

1 1/2 tsp. parsley flakes

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

  Boil manicotti according to package directions, adding oil to water so they won't stick together. Meanwhile, mix cheeses, salt, pepper, parsley, and egg. Drain manicotti; run cold water over it. Stuff each manicotti with cheese mixture. Place them in a 9x13 inch pan. (Use decorating bags to fill easier.) 

  Mix all sauce ingredients together. You can also mix in 1 pound browned ground beef. Pour sauce over manicotti. Bake, covered at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more. Makes 8 servings.

  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top of sauce if desired.