Zucchini N Cheese Manicotti Recipe Recipe 425

Steps:

• Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8" X 8" baking pan with nonstick spray. Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Cook and stir onion until soft and lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer onion to a medium bowl. Add ricotta cheese, basil, Parm-style topping, salt, and pepper. Add 1/4 tsp. each Italian seasoning and garlic powder, and mix until uniform. Lay 4 zucchini slices vertically on a dry surface, slightly overlapping, to form a rectangle. Spoon 1/4th of the ricotta mixture (about 1/4 cup) onto the bottom of the rectangle. Carefully roll up the rectangle over the filling and continue rolling until you reach the top. (The zucchini doesn't need to look perfectly uniform... It just needs to hold the filling!) Using a wide spatula, transfer to the baking pan, seam side down. Repeat to make 3 more manicotti. In a medium bowl, mix canned crushed tomatoes with remaining 1/4 tsp. each Italian seasoning and garlic powder. MAKES 2 SERVINGS To prevent the zucchini from rolling around when you slice it, cut off a thin piece from the length of the zucchini, creating a flat surface. Then lay the flat part on the cutting board, and slice vertically. Make sure your slices are no thicker than 1/4 inch each.

Steps:

• Cook manicotti shells according to package directions.
• In large skillet, heat oil.
• Add onion, garlic and zucchini.
• Cook on low heat for about 15 minutes until zucchini is tender.
• Cool zucchini mixture, then add cottage cheese, cheddar cheese and 2 and 1/2 c of the parmesan cheese.
• Mix well, adding salt and pepper.
• Stuff shells with mixture and place side by side in a greased 9x13" glass baking pan.
• Put stewed tomatoes in blender to chop tomatoes.
• Pour over shells.
• Cover and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
• Uncover, sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over top and continue baking 10-15 minutes longer.

Steps:

• Cook manicotti according to package directions; rinse in cold water and drain. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the egg, sour cream, salad dressing and zucchini., Carefully stuff manicotti with cheese filling. Place in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake 5 minutes longer or until heated through.

Steps:

• Spoon the ricotta into a large, fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a basket-type coffee filter. Set the sieve over a bowl and cover the ricotta well with plastic wrap. Let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator at least overnight, or up to 24 hours. Discard the liquid in the bottom of the bowl.
• Make the tomato sauce and the crepes or pasta squares. (The crepes may be made up to one day in advance; the pasta squares up to several hours in advance.)
• Whisk the eggs and salt together in a large bowl until foamy. Add the drained ricotta, the mozzarella cubes, 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, the parsley, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir well until blended.
• Preheat the oven to 425° F. Coat the bottom of each of two 13 × 9-inch baking pans (or any two pans into which the manicotti will fit comfortably) with 1/2 cup of the sauce. Working with one crepe or pasta square at a time, spoon 3 full tablespoons of the ricotta filling about 1 inch from the edge closest to you. Roll loosely into a cylinder, smoothing out the filling along the length of the tube as you roll.
• Arrange the manicotti, seam side down and side by side, over the sauce in the baking pans. Spoon the remaining sauce over the manicotti and sprinkle them with the remaining 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Cover the baking dishes loosely with aluminum foil and poke the foil several times with a fork.
• Bake 20 minutes. Uncover the dishes, scatter the grated mozzarella, if using, over the top of the manicotti, and bake until the edges are bubbling and the cheese topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes.