Manicotti (makes 4 servings of 2 each)
Ingredients
1 box of Manicotti noodles (I usually allocate 2 -3 per person for a serving)
5 cups of water
16 oz shredded Mozzarella
1 pint of your favorite pasta sauce
16 oz or 1 Pint container of Ricotta cheese
1 cup grated parmesan
2 tbs dried parsley
1 tbs basil
1 Egg (beaten)
1 tbs garlic bread powder (you can sub garlic powder if you don’t have the garlic bread powder)
Directions:
Place Ricotta, ¾ cup of the Parmesan, parsley, basil, garlic bread powder and egg in a large bowl and mix until fully incorporated. Set aside
Boil water, and cook noodles until just under al dente – approx. 8 to 10 min
Remove, drain and rinse with cold water
Pour enough sauce into bottom of pan to just cover and prevent sticking.
Fill each noodle with the ricotta mixture until full. You can pipe this by placing the mixture into a Ziploc and snipping off the corner or you can spoon it inside.
Place manicotti in pan and then cover with remaining sauce. Top with Mozzarella cheese and remaining parmesan.
Bake at 350 approx. 40 min until hot and bubbly.
Variations – Use garlic powder or onion powder instead of garlic bread powder. Add oregano or Italian spice mixture instead of just basil.
The Story:
I am 17.2 percent Sicilian. I have always had a love of Italian food although since my mother was NOT Italian and from the South it wasn’t something we ever really had a lot of when I was younger. I didn’t have a Nona to teach me true Italian cooking and so my bastardized version came into being. That said, while it probably isn’t an authentic recipe, it’s easy, inexpensive and still tastes pretty darn good. I normally use my own recipe of meat or veggie pasta sauce and it tastes very nice either way. I also am a huge lover of cheese. So these are pretty much coated in it inside and out. I don’t think you can have too much of a good thing if it’s cheese. Please feel free to modify this to your own preferences.