Baked Manicotti

Last night we had a lot of catching up to do at our house. Laundry, dishes & cleaning, not to mention cooking dinner, all needed to be taken care of. Luckily, I have a super easy recipe for Baked Manicotti that I could prepare and let cook while I'm doing the things around the house the needed to be done. I found this super easy recipe on Kraft Recipes website.

 2 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
1¾ cups Original Ricotta Cheese
1½ cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup pesto
12 manicotti shells, cooked, rinsed in cold water

Heat oven to 350°F.

Spread ¾ cup sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Mix cheeses, egg and pesto until well blended; spoon into resealable plastic bag. Use scissors to cut small corner from bottom of bag.

Fill manicotti shells by squeezing cheese mixture into both sides of each shell; place in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce; cover.

Bake 40 min. or until heated through.

Note: Substitute Cottage Cheese for the ricotta and/or 100% Grated Romano Cheese for the Parmesan. If you prefer a more traditional style manicotti, simply omit the pesto.

Yummy Pizza!

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo and I had planned to fix a Mexican dish for dinner, however, I didn't have all of the ingredients I needed so on to plan B. I made a delicious Bell Pepper, Red Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza.

Epicurious

1 10-ounce purchased fully baked thin pizza crust (such as Boboli)

1/4 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves (1 1/2 to 2 ounces)

1 1/2 cups thickly sliced mushrooms (5 to 6 ounces)

1/2 cup drained roasted red peppers from jar, cut into thin strips

1/2 cup paper-thin red onion slices

8 large fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips

5-ounce package soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place pizza crust on large baking sheet. Mix olive oil and minced garlic in small bowl. Using pastry brush, brush 2 tablespoons garlic oil evenly over crust. Top with spinach leaves, then sprinkle with sliced mushrooms, roasted red peppers, red onion slices, fresh basil, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle pizza evenly with remaining garlic oil.

Bake pizza until crust is crisp and cheese begins to brown, about 18 minutes. Transfer pizza to board. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

I find recipes all over the internet and store them on a website called TasteBook. I have found that Tastebook is the best (and least cluttering) way to store all of my recipes and also find new ones! You can "Find the best recipes from top sites, magazines & cookbooks and save your "faves" in one convenient place." Once your have enough recipes 'saved' you order your own personalized cookbook! I love it!

Cinco De Mayo!!

Today is Cinco de Mayo! It's time to gather your friends together and have some margaritas! Why not try out a different type of margarita today like a beer margarita! Enjoy!

1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

2 chilled 12-oz bottles beer (not dark; preferably a lighter-style lager)

½ cup thawed frozen limeade concentrate

½ cup chilled tequila

Ice cubes

Rub lime wedges around rims of 4 Margarita glasses.

Dip rims in salt to coat lightly.

In a medium pitcher, combine beer, limeade, and tequila.

Fill prepared glasses with ice, then with margarita mixture.

Garnish with remaining lime wedges.

Serve immediately.

Confections of a Foodie Bride also has a Grapefruit Margarita that sounds and looks incredible! We just had a random man come by work selling grapefruits & oranges, therefore, this margarita may have been calling my name long before I even laid eyes on it! I may have to try this one out tonight.



ENJOY!