Baked Manicotti

I'm in the process of restocking my freezer with homemade meals
and I realized I never got around to posting about my Manicotti!

I've made this a few times and love it every time.
In fact - I still have a batch frozen right now to eat soon!

Now keep reading to see how I made my Manicotti.

The Goods:

Manicotti Noodles

Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Cheese

Ricotta Cheese

Eggs

Marinara Sauce

Fresh Herbs

Garlic Salt

(Full recipe at bottom of post.)

Cook your manicotti and set aside to cool.

Add the cheeses, eggs, fresh herbs and garlic salt to bowl.

Mix everything well.

Stuff the noodles with mixture.

 I find using a piping bag the easiest.

Place filled noodles in greased baking dish,

cover with marinara sauce to your liking.

Add more cheese and chopped fresh herbs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

And it's done!

Serve and enjoy!!!

Cheese Manicotti Recipe

2 Eggs

15 ounces Ricotta Cheese

2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/4 grated Fresh Parmesan Cheese

1 to 2 teaspoon Fresh Basil, Parsley or both

1 teaspoon Garlic Salt

20 Manicotti Noodles

2 cups Marinara Sauce

1. Put egg, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, half the herbs and garlic salt in mixing bowl.

2. Mix on low for about 30 seconds - until it's well combined.

3. Put mixture into piping bag and fill each noodle.

4. Place filled noodles in a greased casserole dish.

5. Pour marinara sauce over noodles and add a little more cheese.

6. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

7. Remove foil from dish and return to oven for 5 or so minutes.

8. Take pan out of the oven and top with the remaining fresh basil.

I adapted this recipe from a Stuffed Shell recipe I've used in the past,

so if you cant find Manicotti noodles, feel free to use Giant Shells instead!

Baked Ziti

I could have SWORN I've posted about Baked Ziti before!

But when I went to find the post for a friend,

it wasn't there!!!

I was shocked!

I've made this recipe FOREVER.

And even though I call it Baked Ziti, 

I don't think I've ever used real Ziti pasta.

I mix it up, but tend to use Rotini most often.

Now, let me show you how to make Baked Ziti,
or Baked Rotini, or whatever you wanna call it!

The Goods:

1 Box Pasta - Ziti, Rotini, Rigatoni, WHATEVER your little heart desires!

1 1/2 Cups Pasta Sauce - I use jarred Marinara, but you can always make your own.

7 1/2 Ounces Ricotta Cheese - I prefer to use Part Skim.

1 1/2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese - Again, I like to use Part Skim. 

1/4 to 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese - Fresh is best, but canned is ok if that's all you have!

1 to 2 Cloves Garlic - TOTALLY optional. I used to use it, but haven't the last few time.

Cook your pasta until al dente, which is usually about 5 minutes.

Don't worry - your pasta will cook a lil more when it bakes!

Once cooked, drain pasta and return to the pot you cooked it in.

Add almost all the cheese (reserve a little Mozzarella and Parmesan)

and mix it all up until pretty well combined.

If you're using garlic, add that too!

Now here come the fun part...

Time to layer your pasta!

Start with a layer of sauce and then add about half your pasta mixture.

Do another layer of sauce and add the rest of your pasta.

Add one more layer of sauce and your reserved cheese.

Now you can either bake the Ziti, or Rotini, or whatever you're using...

OR you can freeze it to use at a later date like I did!

CONFESSION!!!

I actually DOUBLED the recipe.

I not only made one to bake right away and eat,

 but I also made one to freeze and bake at a later date!

Whenever you decided to bake your pasta, 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

You want the cheese on top to fully melt and get a little color.

Before I go, one last quick tip!

I usually move the pasta from the freezer to the fridge 

the night before I want to bake it so it has time to defrost.

If you forget to do so, you'll just want to bake your pasta longer!

Quinoa Spinach Patties

I ran across this recipe awhile ago, and made it not too long after. 

I really liked them, but forgot all about them...that is until recently! 

Once I remembered them, 

I knew I wanted to make them as soon as possible and blog about them to share their deliciousness! 

And you know what? 

They were even better than I remembered them being and I seriously cannot wait to make them again! 

I love to eat them alone, but they're super tasty in a salad or with a fried or poached egg!

Oh and the best part - they are SUPER easy to make. 

I only make a half a batch, which is more than enough for myself.

Now take a look for yourself and then go make them!!

The Goods:

Uncooked Quinoa

Water

Eggs

Parmesan Cheese

Green Onions

Garlic

Salt

Spinach

Panko Breadcrumbs

Olive Oil

 Cook the quinoa according to package directions.

Add the cooked quinoa to everything else but the olive oil.

Form the patties and fry in the olive oil for 8 to 10 minutes per side. 

Cool slightly on paper towel lined plate.

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 32

I was originally planning to make Roasted Squash for dinner, but turns out I'd had my squash too long. :( Oh well, I wasn't too disappointed and was happy to replace the squash with a grilled cheese sandwich. Mmm mmm mmm!!!

I'm sure roasted squash would have been very tasty, but I'm not sad I had to have the grilled cheese instead... 

I was already planning on making a salad tonight, but once the squash was out I opted to roast some brussels sprouts to have with the salad and grilled cheese. 

While things didn't go as I'd originally planned, tonight's dinner was absolutely a success. 

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 30

For my 30th Sunday Night Dinner post, I made something SO tasty and it's something I haven't made in a very long time. In fact, I've never made this exact version either! My friend Alison got to be a taste tester and I think she went home full and happy! 

So what did I make? 

LASAGNA!!!

Kale, Spinach and Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups to be exact! 

And I served them with a spring mix salad and fresh garlic bread. 

I was very happy with the outcome and will absolutely be making these again in the future. And this time I won't wait as long to make them again! In fact - this would make an excellent dish this Fall and I seriously CANNOT wait for it to get here. C'mon Fall!!!

Note: I used this recipe and used Kale, Spinach and Zucchini instead of the Prosciutto. I'm sure either would be fine, but this was all veggie and still incredibly delicious! 

Farfalle Pasta a la Robyn!

I've made a version of this pasta numerous times, but it never really occurred to me to blog about it - until the other night! I was going to make dinner for a friend and wanted to use what I had in my fridge, freezer, pantry and growing in my garden. This a pretty simple dish and can be modified so many ways.  Take a look at what I ended up doing last night!

The Goods:

Farfalle Pasta - I used Mini!

Olive Oil

Bell Pepper - I used Orange, 

but whatever you have works!

Broccoli

Yellow Onion

Garlic

Chicken Sausage - ANY kind.

Parmesan Cheese

Fresh Basil

Chop up the bell pepper...

Cut the broccoli and cook for a few minutes.

It should still have a LITTLE crunch, but not tons.

Now chop up the onion...

And slice the garlic!

Now start the pasta and cook as directed on the box.

While the pasta is cooking, heat up a pan and add olive oil.

Throw in the onions and garlic and sauté for a couple minutes.

Next throw in the bell pepper, and cook for a few more minutes.

Now it's time to throw in the sausage.

Note - if your sausage isn't precooked, you'll want to do that FIRST!

Cook until the sausage gets a nice little color.

Turn off the heat and throw in some cooked, drained pasta.

Mix the pasta around and then add the cooked broccoli. 

Mix the broccoli in...

And COVER it with fresh Parmesan!

Now get the basil and cut it into long thin slices - AKA chiffonade.

Put the pasta in a bowl and top with the fresh basil.

Dig in and ENJOY!!!

Parmesan and Black Truffle Oil Popcorn

Holy wow! This popcorn is just amazing. My brother and his wife introduced me to it a year or so ago and I fell in love after just a few bites. My little nephew even loves it too.

Since I love it so much, I recently bought a popcorn popper for myself. I hadn't used my new toy yet, but figured that last night's get together would be the perfect time to give it a try. And to introduce many more people to the simple, yet delicious popcorn!

The Goods:

Popcorn Popper

Popcorn

Vegetable Oil

Grater

Parmesan Cheese

Sea Salt

Black Truffle Oil

Put vegetable oil and popcorn in popcorn popper.

Put the cover on and plug it in.

Wait for it to start popping...

And watch it start to pop like crazy!

Alllllllllllll done!

Unplug as soon as it's done popping.

Sprinkle with Sea Salt.

Drizzle with Black Truffle Oil.

And finally toss with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

ENJOY!!!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 15!

Right before the holidays I went in for a well check with my Primary Care Doctor. I hadn't had one in a few years and just wanted to make sure everything was okay! They did a few blood tests and determined I have a Vitamin D deficiency. I'm really not surprised and was instructed to take Vitamin D3 supplements daily. I'm doing as told, but I've also made it a point to incorporate more fish into my diet. I've actually only had salmon (multiple times), but I intend to venture out and start making other fish too! Next up to try is Parmesan Crusted Tilapia!

So since I'm trying to eat more fish, tonight's dinner - and many other Sunday Night Dinners recently - has Salmon as the main course. I almost always broil it, but I'd grill it if I had my own barbeque. And I season the fish with lemon and a butter mixture that has a little garlic, parsley, and dill.

Oh and tonight I added Fresh Shaved Parmesan too...

The fish is usually accompanied by rice, but tonight I decided I'd whip up some homemade garlic mashed potatoes and finish the meal off with some fresh steamed broccoli!

Oh man...just thinking about it makes me want more!