Manicotti

I have been sorting through recipes trying to come up with some very hearty dishes to feed the guys that are budget friendly and fit into my use less meat formula.  This is one that fit that criteria.  I believe I got this out of one of Lidia Bastianich's recipe books.  I check things like this out of the library.  If your family loves Italian Lidia is a great resource to go to for Italian cuisine that can feed a crowd.  

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh ricotta cheese
26 ounce Tomato sauce 
8 ounce Manicotti
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
6 oz. (1 1/2 cups) fresh mozzarella (cubed)
1 cup fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano (grated)
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley
1/4 teaspoon white pepper freshly ground)

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese (grated)

Spoon ricotta into a large colander lined with a coffee filter and drain for at least a 1/2 hour.

(If you are using a standard container of ricotta from your dairy section you can skip this step)  I did it and the regular ricotta doesn't drain much liquid out. 

*You don't need to precook manicotti shells.

Whisk the eggs and salt together in a large bowl until foamy.  Add the ricotta, the mozarella cubes, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, parsley, pepper, and nutmeg.  (Also, with the spices I just used regular dried parsley, ground nutmeg, and black pepper here to save money.)  Stir until well blended.   Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Coat bottom of 13x9 pan with 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.  Spoon 3 tbsp. of ricotta filling into the manicotti. (To stuff manicotti the easiest way is to put the filling into a zip lock bag and snip the corner off and squeeze.)  Put the filled shells into the pan.  Spoon remaining sauce over shells.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Cover and bake with loose foil for 20 minutes.  Uncover and spread the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan over the manicotti and bake for 20 minutes more.

* Note: (Now everywhere it says fresh, although that would be wonderful, I just used what is standard in American groceries.  That saves a lot of money not buying the fresh gourmet versions of the cheese.)

For the tomato sauce I used a can of the most inexpensive spaghetti sauce, it is only 99 cents.  That also made this a more thrifty dish.  I used what I had, like eggs, to make this but, you will have to buy the special cheeses and pasta.
So how did the cost per serving come out?
Ricotta $2.29
Manicotti shells 1.98
Mozzarella $2.38
Parmesan $2.29 (with a coupon)  
sauce $.99
Total $9.93 
Comes out to $1.66 per serving
serves 6/ makes 18 manicotti
So there you have an Italian dish that can serve a crowd inexpensively.  My kids just love it with all that cheesy goodness.
Enjoy!

Sherry

I will link this to: 

Friday Food at Mom Trends

Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
Thriving on Thursdays  at Domesblissity
On the Menu Monday at Stonegable 
Rooted in Thyme Simple and Sweet Fridays
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
A Pinteresting Party  at Tutus & Tea Parties
Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter