Fifty-Two Dinners

One new recipe a week for a year. That was the original goal set as a New Year's resolution way back in 2009.

It didn't happen. Nor did it happen in the following years.

But I have continued posting and striving to try one new recipe a week. Some months it happens. Some months it doesn't.

And along the way I've picked up readers from across the country who occasionally pop in to see what's cooking.

Clearly there are better food blogs than mine.

But if you're looking for quick, easy, and healthy with a dash of humor... I'm glad to share what I can.


Friday, March 29, 2013

Spinach Manicotti with Tomato Cream Sauce

Mmm.... mid-winter's night pasta.  Hot, filling, and plenty of leftovers at the end of dinner for the next three days worth of lunches.

Just a warning, you are going to want to prepare more pasta than this recipe calls for.  The spinach filling makes a LOT of filling.  I ended up cooking up shells after dinner was over to use up the rest of the filling.  Manicotti AND stuffed shells- it's a 2-for-1 dinner!
INGREDIENTS
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 8 manicotti shells (from an 8-ounce package)
  • 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup finely grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 package (10 ounces) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • 2 cups prepared marinara sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
DIRECTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain well and arrange in a single layer on an oiled rimmed baking sheet. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and lemon zest. Stir in spinach and season filling to taste with salt and pepper.
  2. Transfer filling to a large zip-top plastic bag. Twist and squeeze bag so filling is in one corner. With scissors, snip a 3/4-inch opening in corner. Pipe filling into both ends of each pasta shell. Arrange stuffed shells in an 8-inch square glass baking dish.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together marinara sauce, oregano, and cream. Pour sauce evenly over stuffed shells and top with 1/2 cup Parmesan. Bake until sauce in center of dish is bubbling and Parmesan is browned in spots, about 30 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.
VERDICT

This was quick and easy to prepare, and it made a HUGE dinner!  The sauce wasn't enough to cover the shells I used for the remainder of the stuffing, but it was nearly as good with bottled pasta sauce over the top.

Thank you Martha Stewart for a filling winter meal.  My manicottis didn't look half as pretty as yours, but I'm pretty sure they tasted just the same.




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