Today I made dinner start to finish completely by myself for the first time.
Kevin literally makes 95% of our meals & for the food I make..it's bagels,
macaroni, or cereal! So anyway, I had no plans today (which also happens to be
our 11 month anniversary) so I decided to make a surprise dinner. I found the
recipe online for cheese manicotti, & tweaked it to my liking!
Our dinner turned out delicious! I also made a Ceaser salad (including the croutons)!
I know it looks like enchiladas, but I promise it's manicotti!
In case, you ever want to try it out..here's everything you need to know!
What You Need!
1 package spinach ( I added spinach because it sounded yummy and was, I shredded it into small pieces)
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
15 ounces ricotta cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 box manicotti noodles
3 to 4 cups marinara sauce ( I used an italian sausage marinara, so Kevin couldn't say there was a lack of protein)
15 ounces ricotta cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 box manicotti noodles
3 to 4 cups marinara sauce ( I used an italian sausage marinara, so Kevin couldn't say there was a lack of protein)
Directions!
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix spinach, cheeses, eggs, salt and pepper. Stir together until well blended.
3. Place about 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce in a 9x13-inch pan. Spread it around to cover the bottom.
4. Place the mixed filling into a plastic zip bag. Cut the corner, gather the top and squeeze the filling into the corner. Hold an uncooked manicotti shell in your hand and squeeze the filling inside the shell. Let it overflow on both sides. Place the filled shell into the sauce-lined pan. (I got a little crazy with the filling as you can see! I cut the hole a little too big!)
5. Cover the pasta with the remaining marinara sauce & the last of the mozzarella
6. Cover with foil, and bake for 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix spinach, cheeses, eggs, salt and pepper. Stir together until well blended.
3. Place about 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce in a 9x13-inch pan. Spread it around to cover the bottom.
4. Place the mixed filling into a plastic zip bag. Cut the corner, gather the top and squeeze the filling into the corner. Hold an uncooked manicotti shell in your hand and squeeze the filling inside the shell. Let it overflow on both sides. Place the filled shell into the sauce-lined pan. (I got a little crazy with the filling as you can see! I cut the hole a little too big!)
5. Cover the pasta with the remaining marinara sauce & the last of the mozzarella
6. Cover with foil, and bake for 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Looks good! I'm going to try it one of these days!
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