Difference between revisions of "Cheese and Spinach Manicotti"

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[[Image:Manicotti for GBSfood 003.jpg‎]]
 
[[Image:Manicotti for GBSfood 003.jpg‎]]
 
*1 jar of red spaghetti-type sauce
 
*1 jar of red spaghetti-type sauce
[[Image:Manicotti for GBSfood 004.jpg‎]]
+
[[Image:Manicotti for GBSfood 005.jpg‎]]
 
*2 large eggs (it doesn't really matter what size egg - I think I used jumbo)
 
*2 large eggs (it doesn't really matter what size egg - I think I used jumbo)
[[Image:Manicotti for GBSfood 005.jpg‎]]
+
[[Image:Manicotti for GBSfood 008.jpg‎]]
 
*1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups is good)
 
*1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups is good)
[[Image:Manicotti for GBSfood 006.jpg‎]]
+
[[Image:Manicotti for GBSfood 004.jpg‎]]
 
*assorted spices (I used pepper and parsley; be creative!)
 
*assorted spices (I used pepper and parsley; be creative!)
[[Image:Manicotti for GBSfood 007.jpg]]‎
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[[Image:Manicotti for GBSfood 006.jpg]]‎
 
==Method==
 
==Method==
 
*Start heatng water in a big pot (it takes forever). When the water starts to boil (in 10-15min), dump in the manicotti noodles. Make sure you stir the noodles after dumping them in, I forgot to do this and a couple of mine stuck to the pot (they don't survive sticking to the pot ).
 
*Start heatng water in a big pot (it takes forever). When the water starts to boil (in 10-15min), dump in the manicotti noodles. Make sure you stir the noodles after dumping them in, I forgot to do this and a couple of mine stuck to the pot (they don't survive sticking to the pot ).

Revision as of 03:40, 29 September 2009

http://stopfuckingposting.com/www.gbsfood.com/1564307/

Here's a sorta-fast, pretty cheap, and easy meal with which to entertain yourself the next time you're bored like I am tonight. It's 9pm and my roommates are asleep so the house is a bit too placid. How about some kitchen magic to spice things up? My plan is to wake up the roommates with some delicious food, just in case they forgot I'm the best roommate ever.

If you want to join in, buy, find, or steal these things.

Ingredients

  • 1 box of manicotti noodles (I think there are 12-14 noodles is standard for a box)

Manicotti for GBSfood 001.jpg

  • 1 package of frozen spinach (10oz package. Sorry; I forgot to take a picture before I tore this one apart. You can use fresh spinach if you want, but that will make this whole process a lot longer)

Manicotti for GBSfood 002.jpg

  • 1 container of ricotta cheese (1.5 cups is good - I think mine was 15oz)

Manicotti for GBSfood 003.jpg

  • 1 jar of red spaghetti-type sauce

Manicotti for GBSfood 005.jpg

  • 2 large eggs (it doesn't really matter what size egg - I think I used jumbo)

Manicotti for GBSfood 008.jpg

  • 1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups is good)

Manicotti for GBSfood 004.jpg

  • assorted spices (I used pepper and parsley; be creative!)

Manicotti for GBSfood 006.jpg

Method

  • Start heatng water in a big pot (it takes forever). When the water starts to boil (in 10-15min), dump in the manicotti noodles. Make sure you stir the noodles after dumping them in, I forgot to do this and a couple of mine stuck to the pot (they don't survive sticking to the pot ).
  • Unwrap the frozen spinach and thaw it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. I recommend unthawing it in the same bowl you will use to mix the rest of the manicotti stuffing (to minimize cleanup), so pick a decently sized one. You might want to strain the spinach after the thawing. I forgot to do this and my stuffing was a little runny.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. If you live in a college house like me, this probably doesn't look as disgusting as it does to normal people.
  • Chop up about a fourth of the onion.
  • Mix the onion, eggs, ricotta, 1/2 of the mozerella (1 cup), and spinach.
  • Add spices. I probably put about a teaspoon of pepper and a teaspoon of parsley. I don't know if it will make a difference.
  • Did you remember to put the noodles into the boiling water? If you haven't done so, do it now. If you have, keep track of how long they have been in the water. You want them "al dente" and, as the box I bought says, that will take 8-9 minutes. Like I said before, don't forget to stir them occasionally to prevent pot-stickage.
  • Next, fish the manicotti noodles out of the pot. The easiest way to do this (so you don't have to clean the strainer) is to transfer the pot from stove to sink and turn on the cold water. After a minute or so, the water will be cool enough that you can reach in and fish out the noodles.
  • Now stuff the noodles with the stuffing. This is pretty straightforward. I usually hold the noodle upright, squeezing one end shut while I stuff into the other. It was too much work to get a good picture of myself doing this, so deal with it.
  • I made a graveyard in the corner of the baking dish for the reject noodles that stuck to the bottom of the boiling pot. If you have some of these, you can still use them to make a mini-lasagna like I am doing. Just put a layer of stuffing in between layers of noodle.
  • Spread about 1 cup of the sauce into a large baking pan. You can use two baking pans if you only have weird square ones or something. I used way too much sauce for this, but it doesn't really matter. 1 cup is plenty, but don't dirty a measuring cup to get that amount, just dump some in there.
  • Now plop the stuffed manicotti into the pan. Spread the rest of the sauce over them, then sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella on top (should be about 1 cup left)
  • Put it in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
  • Pull from oven. Careful; use mitts.