Manicotti
Serves 4 | Prep Time: 25 minutes | Total time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
SPEED TIP: Sometimes it can be quicker to boil pasta in a large, straight-edged pan. Because the water is shallower, it boils more quickly, cutting down on the wait time on that. As long as the pasta is covered with water, it works!
Ingredients
15 oz. ricotta
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded 3⁄4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Black pepper to taste
1 package manicotti pasta
24 oz. of your favorite red sauce
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and begin boiling water for pasta. When water boils, place pasta in pot and boil for 5 minutes, then drain. (Pasta will not be done.)
Meanwhile, mix the remaining ingredients, minus sauce.
Spread a half cup of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch glass baking dish.
Place cheese mixture in a zip lock-type bag. Cut one of the bottom corners of the bag, so you can squeeze the cheese mixture out. (Make sure the opening is smaller than the opening of noodle.
Fill the partly cooked noodles with cheese until all are full. (Holding a noodle on one hand, cover, tilt the noodle up so you can fill it, while covering the bottom of the noodle with fingers. Once noodle is filled to the top, turn noodle in opposite direction to top off that end as well.)
Place pasta in baking dish as you fill. If you have extra filling, pipe it between noodles. It doesn’t have to all be inside!
Pour remaining sauce on top of the manicotti, cover with foil, and place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.