Meatless Monday - Cheese Manicotti - recipe #41

Whew - another blast from the past. Trent and I ate this recipe on our first Valentine's Day together as a couple back in 1997. To make it extra-romantic, I baked it in a heart-shaped pan. Interestingly enough, I bought the same brand of pasta, which had a virtually identical recipe on the back, except the more recent recipe doubled the eggs, salt and nutmeg and cut the pasta sauce by a 1/2 cup.

I also said good bye to some untried recipes and it was surprising how painful it was to do, considering I've never made them and I had good reason to let them go. One was a new focaccia recipe that called for a pizza stone (which I don't have and don't feel the need to purchase) and baking at 500 degrees (which always makes the smoke detector go off). The other was a crockpot dressing from a coworker, when I don't ever host a turkey dinner and don't have a large enough crockpot. Plus, when I asked this year if she made it she said she had found a healthier recipe online that was just as tasty.

Cheese-Filled Manicotti

• 1 package (8 oz.) manicotti
• 1 container (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
• 2 c. (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 T. chopped parsley
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 1/8 t. nutmeg
• 2 c. (8 oz.) spaghetti sauce

Prepare pasta as directed on package; drain. Rince with cold water, drain and arrange in single layer to fill. Meanwhile, mix ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 c. mozzarella, 1/4 c. Parmesan, egg, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spoon mixture into manicotti shells. Sprinkle remaining cheese; Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until hot (I upped it to 400, as it was baking with bread, and reduced the time to 20-25 minutes). Makes 4 servings.