Well, I’ve made it safely back to the U.S.! This week I am in Ohio visiting with family/friends and picking up my kitty cats and next week I will be returning to San Diego to get our new home set-up! As I mentioned last week, because this is such a busy time for me, I’ve asked a few friends to help me out over the next few weeks. Today, I’m happy to have Krissy, from Dainty Chef, as a guest poster. I could spend hours going through her posts and drooling over her delicious photos, just check out this Apple Cheesecake or these Cinnamon Roll Pancakes or these Sweet Potato Cakes with Black Bean Chipotle Salsa. Yum! And this manicotti is definitely going to the top of my “to-make” list when I get in the new kitchen! Thanks, Krissy!
Hello Sunny Side Up Readers, my name is Krissy and I am the blogger behind Dainty Chef. This is a busy time for Jessica so I told her I could help her out with a guest post, and I am so happy to be here. Last October, I was in the same boat as Jessica, my husband and I were settling on a new house, so now I am returning the favor for her. Over on my blog, I try to post a variety of recipes ranging from sweet to savory, of course the sweet ones have a tendency to outweigh the savory :). Today, I wanted to share with you a quick and easy, but somewhat elegant weeknight meal.
Since I am a teacher, this is still a busy time for me since we are just about a month into a new school year. If things couldn’t get any more hectic, I decided to switch grade levels so that adds a whole new dimension of busy in my life. I moved from fourth grade to second grade and those little guys literally suck out all the energy from me each and every day. The last thing that I feel like doing when coming home from work is cooking a labor intensive meal. That is when I turn to recipes that I know will be delicious, but won’t take much time. These Spinach Manicotti may look intimidating, but they come together quickly and are easy to make! The reward is a satisfying and healthy dinner for your entire family. We ended up enjoying these for two nights in a row. They were perfect with a glass of wine, salad, and some bread to clean up all that extra sauce! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did and thanks again Jessica for having me!
Spinach Manicotti with Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
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
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
What you’ll do:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain well and arrange in a single layer on an oil rimmed baking sheet while you prepare the filling. In the meantime, combine ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Fold in the spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer the filling to a large ziplock bag. Squeeze the filling to one corner of the bag and snip off a small opening in the corner. Pipe the spinach filling into both ends of each pasta shell. Arrange the shells in an 8-inch square glass baking dish.I had a hard time fitting my shells in an 8-inch pan so I used my smaller rectangular glass pan from my Pyrex set.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the marinara sauce, oregano, and cream. Pour the sauce evenly over the shells and top with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the Parmesan is browned, about 30 minutes. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving to allow filling to set.
Source: Everyday Food, December 2010
I made this dish last week and my family loved it! It was my first time making manicotti but it won’t be my last. My ziploc bag burst open half way through so I ended up stuffing a lot of the pasta with my hands, but it was actually kind of fun 🙂 I shared this recipe on my most recent meal plan on my blog because I’m sure my readers will love this dish as well, thank you!