Good Evening! I hope you all had a productive Wednesday! I know I did. Mark and my dinner tonight was nothing really all to special! We made Trader Joe's Spanakopita,
We also had some froze ravioli. I topped peas and corn with a few ravioli.
And we enjoyed this bottle of wine
Which by the way if you are a big wine drinker I highly recommend getting a case of wine from Trader Joe's! They have a wonderful selection of wine, and some of the really good ones are super cheap! Mark and I could get a case of wine for less then $100! We make our wine shopping into part of a date night, Mark gets to pick for bottles, I pick four bottles, and then we get four more that we agree on! To be honest I usually pick my four by the bottle, or the funny name! We have had our fare share of good wines, and some that we have vowed to never get again!
Anyways I would like to introduce you all to my dear friend Sam! Her boyfriend Ryan and adorable Bulldogs Wrigley and Addison live in Chicago! Sam always used to be the Domestic Diva in college, she was always making some great dinners! I think she needs to start a blog called the Domestic Diva!
I wills to rambling and give the flour to Sam also known as SAAAAAAM who is going to talk about her fabulous Manicotti! Take it away Sam!
Hello! My name is Sam and I am very excited to be a guest blogger on Hilliary's site. I love to cook but wish I had some more time. I just finished coaching and decided that I wanted to make a great meal for Ryan and I. With our busy schedules I am very happy to have some time to cook for us. I love pasta because I am not a big meat eater. I have been getting tired of your typical pasta or tortellini so I decided to make Manicotti. My mom gave me this recipe and it is fabulous! This takes about an hour and a half to cook / prepare, but it is definitely worth it! The pictures are a bit blurry but still shows what it should turn out like!
Manicotti
Ingredients:
16 - No boil lasagna noodles (I recommend Barilla)
3 cups - Ricotta Cheese (I bought that uses skim milk - fewer calories)
1/2 cup - Grated Parmesan
1 Cup - Sargento Reduced Fat Italian Blend (You can use mozzarella cheese, but this is a healthier option)
2 eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Sauce:
Any type you would like. At my grocery store I get Maggianos Marinara. They have started carrying the Maggiano's bottles so I HIGHLY recommend trying these. They are a bit more expensive, but very flavorful!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Filling:
1. Mix the ricotta, Parmesan, and Italian blend in a bowl.
2. Add the 2 eggs and mix.
3. Add the salt and pepper.
4. Mix well and put off to the side.
Preparing the noodles
1. In a separate pan, add boiling water and fill the pan to an inch.
2. Add the no boil noodles in and let them sit for five minutes
3. Depending on the size of the dish do not add too many at a time. I did about four at a time.
Putting it together
1. Grease a 9X13 baking dish
2. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of sauce to the bottom of the dish.
3. After the noodles have been in the water, dry off (only take out a few at a time, otherwise they will crack)
4. Spread the filling on about 3/4 of the noodle. Start rolling from the top down (or wherever you started the filling). I used a little bit of filling to help keep the roll together
5. Put the new roll in the baking dish
6. Continue until all of the noodles have been used (between 14-16)
7. Once the manicotti are all in the dish add more sauce on top of them. **In the picture you will see four are without sauce. Ryan is not a big sauce fan so I just drizzled them in olive oil**
8. Cover with foil and bake for forty minutes
9. After the forty minutes are up take off the foil and sprinkle some Parmesan on the manicotti.
10. Broil until bubbles/light brown
11. Take out of the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
Done! Enjoy this meal!
Enjoy your night! We are off to watch Zac Brown Band and plan a menu for the boat trip! Goodnight, and remember to live Happily Ever Healthy
