Make-it-now Manicotti

You know I can’t go very long without a pasta recipe on the blog. It’s in my name so it’s required right? That’s what I tell myself for my excuse to get to make lots of pasta! I had never made manicotti before and I saw this recipe for it on Pinterest from Theresa’s Mixed Nuts and I knew I had to try it out! I have now created a board especially for pasta so make sure you go over and follow me on Pinterest because I always try to pin some delicious and fun things!

Ingredients:
-12 Manicotti Shells
-4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
-1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
-2 TBSP dried basil
-4 cups marinara sauce
-3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Cook manicotti according to package instructions
2. Drain manicotti, rinse with cold water and set aside on paper towels to cool
3. Mix together ricotta cheese, basil and 3 cups of the mozzarella cheese
4. Stuff the manicotti shells with the cheese mixture, I found it easiest to just use my hands to do this (they were clean!)
5. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan and pour two cups of sauce in the bottom
6. Place stuffed manicotti shells in the pan on top of sauce
7. Pour remaining 2 cups of sauce over shells, you can add more if you prefer more sauce!
8. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese
9. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes
10. Remove, sprinkle with parmesan and bake for 10 more minutes then serve and enjoy!

This dish was pretty simple. I loved that it was meat free because that always makes a meal easier. I could see it being good with some chicken in the cheese mixture. It was really good and my husband was a trooper to have it two nights in a row when we were working late on the house and I didn’t feel like making something. What is your favorite pasta meal? If you have a favorite pasta recipe share it with me, I am always looking for new dishes to try!