"Meatless Monday" Recipe of the Week - Three Cheese Manicotti

This week's "Meatless Monday" Recipe of the Week is - Three Cheese Manicotti. You can find many versions of this at various websites, I'm using the one on the CooksRecipes website. The Cooks site has such a great selection of recipes to please all tastes, cuisines, or diets. Check it out today. Enjoy and Eat Healthy in 2018!  https://www.cooksrecipes.com/index.html


Three Cheese Manicotti
This recipe calls for purchased marinara sauce, but you can use about 1 3/4 cups homemade marinara or even leftover spaghetti sauce (should you conveniently happen to have some on hand). Whatever sauce is used, this pasta dish is easy enough to prepare for a weeknight supper, yet impressive enough to serve company.

Recipe Ingredients:
1 (12-ounce) package manicotti pasta shells (or 14 manicotti shells)

2 (15-ounce) cartons ricotta cheese
4 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated - divided use
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese - divided use
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley leaves
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce

Cooking Directions:
1 - Grease a 10 x 15-inch sided baking pan, such as a jelly roll pan; set aside.
2 - Cook manicotti pasta shells according to package directions; drain and set aside.
3 - In large bowl combine the ricotta cheese, 3 cups mozzarella cheese, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, beaten eggs, parsley, salt and pepper, mixing well. Divide mixture into 14 balls*.
4 - Carefully split a manicotti shell open. Shape a cheese ball to fit the shell; close shell and lay seam-side down into prepared baking pan (do not crowd the manicotti, allow some space between); repeat procedure with remaining shells and cheese balls.
5 - Pour marinara sauce evenly over shells, spreading as needed to completely cover the shells with sauce so they won't dry out while baking. Top with remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly and cheese filling is set.
6 - Makes 14 manicotti.

*An easy way to divide the ricotta cheese mixture evenly is to form a "log" using plastic wrap, then divide the log into 14 sections.

Variation: 3 Cheese & Spinach Manicotti - For filling, combine 1 (15-ounce) carton, 2 cups shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 1 large egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and and 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach that has been thawed and squeezed dry; proceed as instructed above for filling manicotti; topping with the marinara sauce, then 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/14 of recipe): 362.3 calories; 39% calories from fat; 16.0g total fat; 82.5mg cholesterol; 847.3mg sodium; 370.9mg potassium; 28.8g carbohydrates; 0.8g fiber; 5.5g sugar; 28.0g net carbs; 25.0g protein.
https://www.cooksrecipes.com/mless/three-cheese-manicotti-recipe.html