This is another great recipe from Paula Deen’s magazine (September/October 2012). I will admit that I tried it but I didn’t like it. I don’t like spinach and you definitely tasted the spinach. My husband, on the other hand, really liked it a lot. So I will definitely be making it again. If you’re making it for your family and some of them don’t like spinach, see my notes below about how I’m going to do it next time so both of us are happy!
Ingredients:
- 1 (8-ounce) package manicotti
- 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 cup shredded provolone cheese
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 (25-ounce) jar tomato and basil pasta sauce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13x9x2-inch dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Cook manicotti according to package directions; drain and set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together ricotta, spinach, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1 cup shredded provolone cheese, ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon dried parsley and 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning.
Spoon cheese mixture into manicotti. Pour half of pasta sauce into prepared pan. Place stuffed manicotti over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle with remaining 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese.
Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
NOTES:
1. Don’t overcook the manicotti. I overcooked mine just a little and several of them had a tendency to tear. I was still able to get them stuffed but some of them were pretty messed up.
2. If you don’t want to buy a block of provolone, you can substitute pretty much any other kind of cheese and it won’t make much difference.
3. I would definitely use about another 1 cup of spaghetti sauce. It wasn’t quite enough in our opinions.
4. Here’s what I’m going to do next time so both my husband and I will enjoy this dish (since I don’t like spinach). I’m going to use half the amount of spinach called for. After I get everything but the spinach mixed together, divide the cheese mixture into two bowls. Put the spinach in one bowl and mix. You’ll end up with half the manicotti with spinach and half without.
5. I didn’t realize until I was typing the recipe that I forgot to put the mozzarella on top of the manicotti. I must have put it all in the filling. So if you look at the picture and wonder where the cheese is, that’s what happened. Next time I’ll try to do it right!
