I'm makin manicotti bitches!

Okay, manicotti is not only a super easy, very forgiving recipe, but it is quick and people really like it! I choose to make spinach and sausage manicotti, because I have a weird fixation over that flavor combo but I’ve also done roasted red pepper and spinach, chicken and parmesan, if it tastes good stuffed in a giant noodle, go for it!!! I’m not Italian so if this isn’t your Uncle Lou’s recipe don’t be an asshole about it, it is supposed to be fun and easy, taking as many shortcuts as possible.

Ingredients:
Manicotti shells
Jar of spaghetti sauce (I like to beef this up a little with some extra spices and garlic)
Ground hot sausage
Fresh or frozen spinach
1 nugget garlic
1 medium onion
Container of ricotta
1 egg
Parmesan
Mozzarella
Italian spice blend
Parsley
Black pepper

Let’s do this shit: Start by dicing your onion, throw in a pan with a dash of EVOO, then let cook for a couple minutes on medium. Add ground sausage, cook until sausage is done. Before draining add spinach and let cook until spinach is well mixed in. Stain out all the fat, put in the refrigerator to chill.
*it doesn’t have to chill all the way but I don’t like to put it straight into the ricotta, or the ricotta will start to liquefy*

Bring a huge (the bigger the better) pot of water to boil, add manicotti, cook for approximately 10 minutes (check on the box for exact time). Mix together container of ricotta, egg, handful parmesan, handful mozzarella, dash of Italian seasoning, dash black pepper, and spinach/sausage mixture. Then stuff the manicotti, I use a piping bag because it’s mad efficient. Then top with a jar of spaghetti (I usually heat it up in the same pan I cooked the sausage mixture in to get all the loose ends that didn’t make it out of the pan, and jazz it up a little). Lastly, I top that shit with a handful of mozzarella and parmesan and pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes. I personally like my cheese a little crunchy on top, so I do turn the broiler on for the last 2 minutes! Garnish with parsley.

Leftover mania:
I usually have leftover manicotti stuffing, so I freeze it. Then I get a piecrust and make quiche out of it! I simply add the guts to the piecrust, and add a mixture of 5 whipped up eggs (add a dash of milk when mixing the eggs). Bake until the eggs are solid, usually about 35 minutes.