Easy Manicotti

I love a good homemade pasta dish.  Especially if it's easy and I know it's something the family will enjoy.  There's nothing difficult about making this manicotti.  Just gather some yummy ingredients, mix together, stuff, and bake.  

Boil manicotti pasta as directed on the box.  You'll need about 12 shells, depending on how full you stuff them.  You can use a jar of spaghetti sauce or your own homemade sauce.  I had some homemade spaghetti sauce in the freezer.  While the pasta was cooking, I defrosted and thoroughly heated the sauce.

Mix together ricotta, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, one egg, garlic powder, and italian seasoning.

Drain the pasta and set aside.

There are 2 ways to "stuff" the shells.  You can hold the tube open and use a small spoon to stuff the cheese filling inside.  Or sometimes, the shells will come apart down the middle while boiling.  You can just place some filling down the middle, wrap the pasta around it, and place seam side down in a baking dish.  Either method works fine.

Place all the stuffed shells in a 13 x 9 baking dish, lightly sprayed with canola or olive oil.

Pour sauce all over the pasta.

Sprinkle some mozzarella all over.  Then cover with non-stick foil or foiled sprayed with oil to keep the cheese from sticking to it.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Uncover and cook about 5 more minutes.

Serve with garlic bread and salad and enjoy this yummy dish.

Easy Manicotti

12 manicotti shells

Homemade spaghetti sauce or one jar of sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 container part-skim ricotta

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Boil pasta shells according to box directions.  Heat spaghetti sauce.  Mix together 1 cup mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, egg, garlic powder and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. Drain pasta and let them cool slightly.  Stuff shells with cheese filling.  Place filled pasta in a 13 x 9 dish, lightly sprayed with oil.  Cover pasta with spaghetti sauce and sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella over the sauce.  Cover with non-stick foil or foil lightly sprayed with oil.  Cook for 25- 30 minutes.  Uncover and cook 5 more minutes.

Linking up this yummy deliciousness at these awesome parties:
Debbiedoo's Newbie Party, Sisters of the Wild West, Skip To My Lou-Made By You Monday, Home Stories A to Z, Crafty Texas Girls-Cowgirl Up, Growing Home Blog-Teach Me Tuesday, Elizabeth & Co.-Be Inspired, Uncommonly Yours Link Party, Kristen's Creations, Simple Home Life-Simply Creations Link Party, The Grant Life

Pasta Salad

I recently found this recipe on Pinterest and knew I wanted to try it. I made a few changes to fit my family's taste, but it is still so delicious.

Cook a box of tricolor rotini according to the box directions.

Gather a container of feta cheese, chopped red onion, sliced black olives...

...and some bottled italian dressing.

Mix everything together and chill.

Serve with a panini sandwich (I made Italian paninis) for a simple summer meal.

Pasta Salad
1 box of tricolor rotinia pasta
1 cup feta cheese
small can sliced black olives, drained
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup Italian dressing

Cook pasta according to box directions.  Drain and cool.  Mix all ingredients into pasta.  Chill at least 1 hour.

Creamy Mac N Cheese

How do you get this elbow macaroni...

...and all of this shredded cheddar cheese...

...to become this creamy mac n cheese dish?

I used a Pioneer Woman recipe. She is by far my favorite TV cook. I have never tried one of her recipes that I didn't like. She posts wonderful pictures of each step of the recipe. The first time I made this recipe, I baked the pasta and got the crispy topping. The second time, I stopped once the pasta was creamy and skipped the baking. It's whatever you prefer. You can find the recipe here. Enjoy!

Spicy Mac N Cheese

Macaroni N Cheese is one of America's favorite dishes. There are soooo many ways to make it. In fact, I have 3 different recipes that I use and they all taste different, but are still very flavorful.

Spicy Mac N Cheese is such a delicious dish but don't eat if you're watching your carbs and fat intake. I usually only make this when my dad is in town because it's his favorite. It may be a little spicy for some, but it's just right for our family. Here's the recipe:

Spicy Mac N Cheese from Food Network
2 cups elbow pasta, cooked
16 0z cheddar cubed, 1/2 cubed, 1/2 shredded
8 oz pepper jack cheese, cubed
2 tsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. dry ground mustard
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
4 Tbsp. sour cream
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half/half
4 slices bread
1 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, toss cooked pasta with cheese cubes and pour in 13 x 9 inch casserole dish. In another bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, mustard, nutmeg, sour cream, egg, heavy cream, and half/half. Pour over pasta. Cover with shredded Cheddar. Bake uncovered until top is beginning to brown, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, cut bread into crouton-sized squares. In skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add bread cubes. Toast bread until golden. Sprinkle bread on top of pasta and bake 10 more minutes. Enjoy!

Ravioli Lasagna

It's time for my first recipe post! Yay! Ravioli Lasagna! Double Yay!!

I first found this recipe in a Parenting magazine. I've made this many times over the years. It's quick, simple, delicious, and even my picky 5 year old son will eat it.

You just need these 3 ingredients: 1 jar of spaghetti sauce, 1-25 oz. package of frozen ravioli, 1-8 oz. package of shredded mozzarella.

Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9 casserole dish.

Spread half of the package of ravioli on top of the sauce. Be sure the ravioli is in a single layer.

Top with 1 cup of the sauce. Use a spatula to help spread the sauce on top of the ravioli. Then sprinkle half of the mozzarella on top. Repeat layers.

Before placing in the oven, cover the dish with foil. I keep 2 types of foil in my pantry: regular foil and non-stick foil. I like to use non-stick foil when I have to cover dishes in the oven or when baking bread or biscuits. I use regular foil for everything else.

If you don't have non-stick foil, spray some cooking spray on regular foil and then cover the dish. This will prevent the yummy mozzarella cheese from sticking to the foil.

Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven. Uncover, then bake another 5-10 minutes. Serve with garlic bread, salad, and enjoy!

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1-25 oz. package frozen ravioli

1-8 oz. package shredded mozzarella

Preaheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread 1/2 cup of sauce on bottom of a 13 x 9 casserole dish. Spread 1/2 the package of ravioli in a single layer. Top with 1 cup of sauce and 1/2 of the package of mozzarella. Layer the rest of ravioli, 1 cup of sauce, and the rest of the mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5-10 more minutes.