I made a spinach manicotti today and used fresh mozzarella
and fresh spinach. Spinach was on sale
last week for 50 cents a bag and I had to use it up.
1 bag of spinach
12 cooked manicotti pasta shells (I make extra because they
sometime tear)
1 container ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh mozzarella cheese (you can use grated if you
like)
1 tbs. garlic (I like to used the store bought garlic in a
jar that is already minced for me)
1 tsp. onion powder
Ragu Alfredo sauce (any brand is OK or you can make your
own)
Salt and pepper
Put olive oil in frying pan and add chopped garlic. Add your spinach and let it wilt down. Add your salt and pepper and onion
powder. Add your 3 cheeses and let them
melt down.
Boil your manicotti
shells in boiling salt water with a bit of olive oil. About 20 minutes. Do not over cook. Let the manicotti shells cool well before
filling.
Let your cheese and spinach cool and put in a baggie. Cut off the tip and squeeze into your
shells. Place them in a sprayed
pan. Should make about 8 shells. Today I was lazy. I had a jar of Ragu Alfredo sauce and used it
so I did not have to make a béchamel sauce. You will not need to use it all. Just cover the top of the manicotti. Sprinkle
the top with Parmesan cheese and/or fresh mozzarella cheese.
Bake for about 25 minutes until it begins to turn golden on
top. It is already cooked so you only
need to brown on top. You can speed
things up if you like and put it under the broiler. Just make sure you watch it and don’t let it
burn. I never walk away from my broiler
because I have burnt too many things.
Stuffing shells does make a mess. If you want to save a mess and simplify
things use lasagna noodles and make lasagna using the same ingredients. When you have made your cheese and spinach
mixture, add your Alfredo sauce or a béchamel sauce to the mixture. Taste to see if it might need more seasoning.
This becomes your sauce for between the
lasagna noodles. Just layer and
bake. I like to use the no cook lasagna
noodles. They are the only way to go and
it makes it even simpler.
Béchamel Sauce
I’ll share a béchamel sauce in case you want to make your
own.
5 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup flour
4 cups warm milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of nutmeg
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add
the chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the flour and whisk until
smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the warm milk, whisking constantly, until the
sauce is thick and creamy, about 8 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and
nutmeg. Taste for seasonings and adjust if needed. This will not give you the intense flavor that the Ragu would because it has cheese in it. You might want to add a little more cheese in the cheese mixture to make up for it.
You can also freeze any left over for another day and just
microwave them to reheat them.
Have a great day, be happy and may God bless you and
yours.
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