Manicotti

Ingredients

• Manicotti

  Creamette

  10 pieces or 187g

• Ricotta cheese

  Part skim milk

  16 oz or 454g

• Basil

  Spices, dried

  8 tbsp, leaves or 17g

• Prego Pasta, Roasted Garlic Parmesan Italian Sauce, ready-to-serve

  4 serving 1/2 cup or 520g

• Mozzarella Shredded Cheese

  Kroger

  2 cup or 224g

• Cheese, Grated Parmesan Romano

  Grated Parmesan Romano, Kroger

  15 tsp or 38g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  1 tsp or 2g

• Morton Natural Sea Salt

  Morton Salt

  1 serving or 2g

• Garlic

  Raw

  8 clove or 24g

• Garlic powder

  Spices

  2 tbsp or 19g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  1 tbsp or 14g

Directions

1. You will need: Large baking dish (casserole dish) Large sauce pan Pastry bag Utensils
2. Fill a large sauce pot with water. Make sure the manicotti noodles have plenty of room, so they don't stick together. Bring your water to a boil and gently place noodles into water. Turn heat down slightly so that it still boils, but doesn't boil over. They should be soft but al dente as they will finish cooking during the baking process. Use a fork to gently move them around as necessary so they don't stick to the bottom or sides of the pan. If they split slightly, you can still use them, but try to keep that from occurring if possible. They do not take very long to cook, compared to spaghetti or other noodles. Once they are done, drain them in a strainer and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process. Set them aside for now.
3. While your pasta is cooking, mix the entire container of ricotta with your basil, garlic, garlic powder, pepper & salt. Mix well with a spoon. Mix in parmesan cheese until incorporated and your mixture looks even in color from the added ingredients. Spoon mixture into a pastry bag (icing bag) and cut the end off your bag at about an inch up as the mixture is thick and the shells are large.
4. Spread the tablespoon of olive oil onto the bottom of your baking dish. This prevents your noodles from sticking and adds flavor.
5. Fill the manicotti shells using the pastry bag full of your cheese mixture by placing the tip into the shell as far as it can go without damaging the shell and squeezing the bag, then dragging the bag outward as the shell fills. The pastry bag makes it simple to do. The shell should be entirely filled from end to end. Once filled, place the stuffed shell into your baking dish. Repeat the process until all of your shells are filled and placed. If you run out of room to place the shells, you can stack them and it will turn out fine.
6. Liberally pour and spread your jar of spaghetti sauce over the top of your stuffed manicotti.
7. Sprinkle your mozzarella cheese over top of your spaghetti sauce and manicotti evenly
8. You can add more basil and garlic if you wish to the top for taste. I use basil liberally in this dish and it turns out deliciously.
9. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees F for approx 30 minutes or until your cheese is completely melted on top. The key to baking these effectively is making sure your ricotta cheese has baked long enough. I wait until I see the oil bubble and the cheese in the shells come together. The ricotta will still be soft, but it will hold together unlike when it comes out of the container.