Three Cheese and Spinach Manicotti

It really easy to make this Three Cheese and Spinach Manicotti. Have you made it before? I think I made it once about 30 years ago. I just forget about it. Like all pasta dishes there are certain pasta shapes that work well with different types of sauces.

Long skinny pastas work well with light cream and oil based sauces. Thicker pasta like Manicotti needs a thicker, meatier sauce. Heavy creams, cheesy and pesto sauces pair well with twisted pasta shapes.

This dish serves 4 and takes a total time of 45 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb manicotti noodles, cook according to package directions 
• 16 oz fresh spinach 
• 24 oz ricotta cheese 
• 16 oz mozzarella cheese 
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 
• Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste 
• 3 eggs,beaten 
• 1 16 oz store brought jar. 
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for dusting

Directions:

• Cook noodles and drain well.
• Remove tough stems from spinach and cook in boiling water for 2 minutes.
• Using paper towels or a clean dish towel, squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible.
• Chop spinach into small pieces.
• Mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, 3/4 cup Parmesan, eggs and spinach.
• Season with salt and pepper
• Stuff cooked manicotti with the mixture, being careful not to break noodles.
• Cover the bottom of an oven proof baking dish with some of the marinara sauce,and place the stuffed noodles atop.
• Pour in enough sauce to almost cover the noodles and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Yum Yum!