Manicotti

 

Manicotti is a dish I grew up with because one of my father’s best friend had an amazing cook called Momma Videccia. She was not only a great Italian cook but a great teacher who taught me how to make Italian food from scratch. This is one dish she taught me how to make when I was about 7 years old. Although this recipe is using boxed pasta versus making it from scratch.

Ingredients

• 5 ½ ounces manicotti pasta (half a box of Manicotti)
• 1 pint ricotta cheese
• 16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¾ cup grated Romano cheese, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce or homemade sauce that you made.

Directions

1. Cook manicotti in boiling water until al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Mix ricotta, 8 ounces of mozzarella, 1/2 cup Romano cheese, eggs, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined.
4. Pour 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce into an 11x17-inch baking dish. Stuff each manicotti shell with 3 tablespoons cheese mixture and arrange over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over the top of the shells and sprinkle with remaining Romano cheese. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly, about 45 minutes.
6. Serve with Garlic bread and salad. Enjoy!

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts from Phoenix University in Business Management, then a degree. Mass Communication and Cyber Analysis from Phoenix University, then on to Walden University for her master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology. Her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist in her spare time, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, Gouche, and pastels. As a political operative having worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 6 blogs that range from art to life coaching, to food, to writing, and opinion or history pieces each week.