My mom’s manicotti recipe was always one of my favorites! It was like spaghetti (another favorite) but cheesier. 🙂 I think I have my mom’s manicotti recipe somewhere, but I came across this one to try in the meantime. It’s not as quick and easy as the recipe I grew up eating, but it’s still very good!

Serves: 6-8

Meat Sauce:
1 onion, chopped
6 oz. sliced deli pepperoni, chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 T. tomato paste
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
2 (28 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
salt & pepper

Manicotti:
3 c. (24 oz) ricotta cheese
2-1/2 c. (10 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese*
1-1/2 c. (6 oz) shredded provolone cheese*
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 c. finely chopped fresh basil
16 no-boil lasagna noodles

*I just used 16 oz. Italian blend cheese instead of these two.

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375F/190C. Heat onion, pepperoni, and beef in a large saucepan over medium heat, breaking up mixture with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
2. Using slotted spoon, transfer 1 cup beef mixture to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve. Add tomato paste, garlic, and pepper flakes to pot with remaining meat mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (At this point, sauce can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.)
3. Combine ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, 1 cup provolone, egg, salt, pepper, basil, and reserved meat mixture in large bowl.
4. Pour 2 quarts boiling water into 9×13″ baking dish. Soak noodles until pliable, about 5 minutes. Drain noodles on kitchen towel. Pour off water and dry baking dish.
5. Spread half of meat sauce over bottom of baking dish. Following photos below, top each soaked noodle with 1/4 cup cheese filling, roll, and arrange, seam-side down, over sauce in baking dish.

6. Spread remaining sauce over manicotti. Cover with foil and bake until bubbling around edges, about 40 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and provolone. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Serve.

This is another one of my mom’s recipes from when I was growing up. I know it’s a favorite of at least one of my sisters, and I’ve always really liked it too!

Makes: 4 servings

1 c. julienned sweet red pepper
1 c. sliced, fresh mushrooms (I opted not to use them…I don’t really like mushrooms)
1/4 c. chopped green onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c. butter (half of a stick)
2 c. whipping cream
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. salt
2 grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced (I pan-fried mine)
hot cooked angel hair pasta (I used 16 oz)

1. In a large skillet, saute red peppers, mushrooms, onions, and garlic in butter.
2. Add the cream, basil, chicken, and salt. Cook and stir until slightly thickened. Serve over pasta.
Enjoy!

I try to do 1 or 2 “vegetarian” dishes each week. It tends to cut the grocery bill down a bit, which is always helpful! This is a tasty recipe that you can throw together pretty quickly!

Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 medium red onion, sliced 1/2″ thick (I went ahead and used a whole onion)
1 T. +1 t. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 t. + 3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. crushed red-pepper flakes
8 oz. penne
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T. chopped fresh oregano (I used a teaspoon of dried oregano)
1/4 c. part-skim ricotta cheese

1. Preheat broiler. Toss tomatoes and onion with 2 teaspoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the red-pepper flakes. Broil on a rimmed baking sheet until tomatoes are just starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.
3. Toss warm pasta with garlic, remaining 2 teaspoons oil, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in tomato mixture and the oregano.
4. Add 1/4 cup reserved cooking water to moisten; stir in remaining water as needed. Divide pasta among 4 bowls, and stir 1 tablespoon ricotta into each.

**Each serving has about 297 calories, 6 g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 48 g carbohydrates, 384 mg sodium, 10 g protein, 6 g fiber**