Formaggio Manicotti

Cheese Manicotti.  I love it.  It's easy and delicious and filling.  I like to garlic it up! 

Throw in some bread and a salad and WHAM...dinner is served!

Cheese Manicotti:

Call it Formaggio Manicotti if you are feeling fancy!

1 16 oz container of ricotta cheese

1 egg

3 cloves of garlic, minced 

freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

your favorite jarred pasta sauce

salt

pepper

manicotti shells (for our family I usually make 6-7 shells)

loaf of Italian bread

unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, combine 3/4 of the ricotta cheese with 2 cloves of minced garlic, as much or as little shredded Parmesan as you would like (I like a lot, about 1 cup), and salt and pepper to taste. Break an egg either in a separate dish and beat lightly before adding to ricotta cheese bowl OR just throw the egg into the bowl with the ricotta cheese and beat it in there.  That's what I do. 

Garlic makes it taste better...mmmmmmm.... 

Okay, stir it all up until it's smooth.

Transfer to a large Ziploc bag and toss it into the fridge while you make the pasta.

Cook the manicotti shells as directed on the package, usually 7 minutes in boiling water.

When pasta is done cooking, transfer from boiling water individually with a slotted spoon onto a plate, allowing water to drain from inside tube.  It will be hot, be careful!  Allow to cool a bit. 

Now for the fun part!

Spoon two tablespoons of your favorite jarred pasta sauce onto the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish.  This prevents the manicotti from sticking to the dish.

Cut a corner of the large Ziploc bag full of ricotta filling to make a piping bag.  

Carefully take a cooked manicotti shell and squeeze the filling in.  I usually work from both ends and meet in the middle.  

Lay the filled shells into the baking dish.  Proceed with the remaining shells and filling.

Spoon more jarred pasta sauce over the shells and shred some more Parmesan over that!   

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, uncovered.  

While that's baking, take a loaf of store bought Italian bread and slice vertical slices through the bread, but not all the way through. 

Soften 4 tablespoons unsalted butter in microwave for about 20 seconds.

Mince 1 clove of garlic and add to softened butter, with a dash of salt, too.

Smear the garlic butter onto each sliced section of the Italian bread and over the top as well.

Bake it in the oven for the last 10 minutes of the manicotti's cooking time.

TA-DA! Fresh baked garlic bread... 

Watch out for sneaky kids who try to steal the bread before the rest of the meal is served... 

Enjoy your cheese manicotti!

It's molto buona!