When looking for new recipes I typically check out Kraft’s web site because most of the recipes have photos and they are easy recipes, but their cheesy manicotti recipe required cooking the shells and 3 egg whites. The stuffed chicken manicotti recipe I like is from Kraft and does not require cooking the shells. Looking at the Spinach Ricotti Manicotti at cooks.com I saw that it did not require cooking the shells and used a whole egg and since I use a tomato sauce with mushrooms and onions, I thought I could skip that part from Kraft’s but add garlic salt (I work with what I have on hand).
Jar tomato sauce
14 manicotti shells
1 pkg. frozen spinach
1 egg
2 tsp garlic salt
15 oz Ricotta
1 c. Mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, divided
1. Cook spinach, drain. Mix spinach with Ricotta cheese, egg, garlic salt, 1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese, 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese all together. Stuffed uncooked shells with mixture (my salad fork is sized right for efficiently cramming).
2. Put two cups of tomato sauce in bottom of large baking pan size 9 x 12 x 2 inches. Arrange manicotti in pan 1 inch apart. Pour about 4 cups of sauce over manicotti to cover. Top with rest of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
3. Cover pan with foil. Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer or until cheese is lightly brown.
4. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.
If you are reading my blog for the first time, please note that I work full-time and am cooking for one so while this is a large portion, it is a make ahead meal (lunch and/or dinner) for the week. To accomplish this, I put the recipe into several containers to have smaller portions for work lunches and for re-heating at home in the toaster oven (seems to taste better than the microwave). At work I have to re-heat in a microwave, I no longer use plastic containers and the Pyrex collection is glass with sealed lids that do not leak, which is great for lunch bag travel. I was thrilled to receive 2, 4, and 7 round for Christmas from my mom & sister! If I am reheating at home, I might use vintage Pyrex and dine in style!
If you have a recipe you think I would like, works well in smaller portions (couples similar challenges to singles, I know, my coworker reminds me!) or you just want to show off your recipe, leave me a comment!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I love Kraft’s website, too. I do my grocery lists on there as well. I definitley need pictures when contemplating a new recipe. I usually won’t make it if I can’t see it first.
This manicotti looks delish!
I’m totally going to try this recipe. I do a pasta bake with ground turkey, heart healthy sauce and whole grain pasta (and a crap ton of cheese) that’s generally a hit. But, I think this might be a tad healthier.
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Came across this while searching for another recipe and thought I’d share a cool trick I learned from Cooks Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen. For manicotti, you can use those no boil lasagna noodles instead of manicotti noodles. (I found them tough to not break them) You soak the lasagna noodles for a few minutes in hot water to soften, roll the filling up inside and then continue with recipe.