Stuffed Manicotti

Stuffed Manicotti
Make This With Or Without Meat!
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 35-40 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
8-10 dried Manicotti, boiled, drained & dried
4 cups marinara sauce
3 cups Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese + garnish
2 cups Italian blend shredded cheese
2 cloves garlic, fine mince
3-4 generous handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1/2 tsp dried oregano
minced parsley for garnish
olive oil
salt
pepper

Cooking Tools

Stock pot

Medium skillet/ fry pan

Medium size mixing bowl

1 large baking dish or 2 small

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.  Boil pasta in salted boiling water according to box directions, drain and dry. Saute spinach in 1 tbsp olive oil and let water evaporate.  Add in garlic and saute until all moisture is gone. Set spinach aside to cool.  In a mixing bowl, add; Ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 cup Italian blend cheese, the cooled sauteed spinach and garlic, 1/4 tsp oregano, salt and pepper to taste.  Fill manicotti pasta with the ricotta filling Cook's Note: If your going to add cooked ground beef, I usually add it to the filling. Pour 2 cups of marinara sauce at the bottom of baking dish. Place stuffed manicotti on top of sauce and pour the rest of the sauce on top. Spread 1 cup of shredded cheese and sprinkle with some Parmesan. drizzle with olive oil, dried oregano and minced parsley.  Bake in oven covered with loose foil, bake for 40 minutes.
Serves 4