Cheese Manicotti in the Month of May!

Happy Friday to all on this glorious "summer" day!  I just love May . . . it's the beginning of the summer season but usually not unbearably hot.  I love going to graduations and weddings, and all the newness and excitement in the air because of both.  I love opening the windows each morning to a cool breeze, yet having it warm enough that the kids and I can get outside well before noon.  I love the new life of flowers, grass, and trees - a reminder that God's mercies are "new every morning". 

Since I have not been able to stomach the cooking of meat as of late, my poor family has been suffering a bit.  David was less than thrilled to have banana pancakes and yogurt for supper the other night!  I've been trying to come up with new "meatless" recipes that I can handle making and that the family won't mind eating! 

Last night I made cheese manicotti, and was fairly surprised that it was such a big hit.  When I saw the recipe said, "manicotti shells", I got the shells part in my brain.  So that's what I bought - giant shells.  When I actually started making it, I remembered that I had made this recipe once before, right after graduating high school.  And I remembered that manicotti is the big tube pasta.  Oh, well.  It worked well and the kids enjoyed the shape of the shells!

First I boiled the shells to al dente so they would hold up during filling.  I started to line the pan with them, but I think next time I'll pull them from the strainer as I fill them. There was just too much going on when they were already in the pan.

Next I mixed the cheeses and herbs.  It said to fill the shells with a long spoon, but I tried it using a ziploc bag with the tip cut off - so much easier than I remember when I used a spoon years ago!  Just don't fill the bag more than halfway, or the cheese will spill out the top while you're filling the shells!

Once all the shells were filled, I poured spaghetti sauce over the top.  I found Prego onion and garlic flavor on sale this week for $.99, so that's what this is.  Also, though the recipe doesn't call for this part, I sprinkled about 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and a little garlic salt on the top.

Here's the whole meal - cheese manicotti, broccoli slaw salad, and homemade bread and butter.  mmm!

Cheese Manicotti

1 pkg. manicotti shells
2 c. shredded mozzarella
1/3 c. parmesan cheese
1 T. Italian seasoning
1 T. parsley flakes
1 1/2 c. Ricotta cheese
2 beaten eggs
1 jar spaghetti sauce

Cook manicotti shells according to package directions, stirring often.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Stir together eggs, cheeses, and spices.  Fill manicotti shells with this mixture using a long spoon.  Arrange filled shells in large baking dish.  Pour spaghetti on top.  Bake, covered at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as my family did, and have a splendid weekend!  I think ours is going to include several hours outdoors!

A Savory Pie and Other News

Obviously, I have not posted in a couple of weeks.  So here's the deal.  Shortly after my last post, the whole "morning sickness" thing really got a hold of me, and I haven't even climbed the steps to the office more than maybe twice since then.  I had all these awesome recipes I'd been working on, with pictures and directions and everything . . . and suddenly, even the mention of most of them makes me start to gag.  My apologies for being unable to share them at this time.

Here's one that I just can't get enough of, though.  I have no problem making it and thinking and writing about it!  Behold, the Tomato Cheese Pie.

My grandma used to make one similar to this when I was growing up.  I ran across a recipe in an old cookbook the other day and couldn't seem to get the memory of it out of my head, so I had to make it!

Here's the recipe:

1 pie crust
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 c. grated mozzarella cheese
1 c. ricotta cheese

2 T. chopped onion

1 tsp. crumbled basil (I like more than that)
Parmesan cheese
3-4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced thin
salt and pepper

Line a pan with pie crust.  Prick with fork, bake 10 min. at 425.  Combine cheddar, mozzarella, ricotta, and onion.  Spoon into slightly cooled pie crust.  Topping: arrange tomatoes in a tightly overlapping circular pattern over the filling.  Sprinkle with basil, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.  Bake 350 for 20-30 minutes.  Cool slightly before serving.

This is utterly delicious.  I wasn't sure how David would react but I didn't mention the ricotta, and he said he loved the pie!  I'm usually big on making quiche, so the family assumed it was a fancy version of that.  This is so easy to make - but you might want to do two because it goes fast.

In other news, we had our first OB appointment today.  It is always a relief to have that done and know that everything is okay.  In my case, I need that confirmation that I am indeed pregnant and I don't have some weird disease that makes me nauseated and turns the test positive (yes, I am crazy.  I realize this). 

We even got a few pictures, which I may post at a later date.  I am waiting to make sure our family gets a first peek. 

Yesterday we had a fabulous day for Mother's Day!  We had been running nonstop all week leading up to Sunday. David worked overtime and the kids and I visited family, ran errands, and attended graduations which meant very little rest for any of us. 

When I woke up yesterday morning, this is what I found:

I was so excited I screamed.  And I don't scream.  So far the past three days I have been feeling much better, so hopefully I will be able to use them all in the next week and have some great new recipes I can share!

We let the kids sleep late, then went to church, ordered a pizza for lunch, and watched movies all afternoon.  aaahhhh, happy Mother's Day to me!!

Hopefully that catches me up for a bit and I will be able to blog much more frequently from here on out!