3 Cheese Manicotti

Stuffed pasta. Another comfort food. I make stuffed shells and manicotti pastas all the time. Sometimes I remember to take pictures and sometimes, we just get to eating. I don’t mind as I know I will be making it again so there is always another time for me. Mostly I use sauteed spinach and garlic in stuffed pastas. This time around, for some reason, I wanted to make it a pure joy(if you can call it minus the veggies) for my family! They are very picky when it comes to veggies and that’s why I have no choice but to sneak in veggies in pastas, sauces and soups. I thought why not make them eat the veggies on its own this time? Just serve the cheesy pasta with the vegetable side dish, nothing fancy. Steamed or roasted vegetable side. That’s it. And to my surprise, they devoured the steamed broccoli gladly before they even hit the manicotti. I still added some chopped parsley to the cheese mixture. And yes, I am proud of my family because they do eat steamed broccoli and green beans if they know more good things are coming.

3-Cheese Manicotti

Ingredients
8 Manicotti pasta
1 cup ricotta cheese
1-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of parsley, chopped, optional
1 jar marinara sauce

How to:

Cook pasta for about 5 minutes in boiling water, or until just tender. Don’t cook it per package directions.
Drain the pasta, spread on a baking tray, coated with oil.
Mix all the cheeses(less ½ cup mozzarella), egg, salt and pepper and parsley if using.
Pour half the bottle of marinara sauce in 13X9 baking tray.
Heat oven to 400° F.
Fill the manicotti with cheese mixture.
Arrange on the baking tray, pour remaining sauce over them.
Sprinkle leftover mozzarella on the top, bake covered for about 30 minutes, uncovered for 10 more minutes or until the cheese melts and golden brown top forms.
Enjoy with garlic loaf.