Freeze Ahead Manicotti

Tish's Note:

Really good served with a spinach salad. I usually make a few of these and lasagna's the same time and they are ready to pull out at any time. (It's just as easy to put a couple together at this point and have them ready.)

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 (8 ounce) package manicotti
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 (15 ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 (16 ounce) carton small curd low fat cottage cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce

Directions:

1. Boil manicotti according to package directions, adding oil to water so they won't stick (actually we have had a discussion about this and I'm not sure that works, but I do it anyway!) Meanwhile, mix ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, parsley, and eggs.
2. Drain manicotti; run cold water over it.
3. Stuff each manicotti with cheese mixture.
4. Place them in a 3 qt casserole after treating the dish with nonstick spray, and pour sauce around the manicotti.
5. Cover dish with foil and freeze.
6. When frozen you can pop it out of the container and put in a freezer bag if desired.
7. To prepare for serving, thaw and preheat oven to 350F.
8. Cover and bake for 45 minutes.
9. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

Reviews

[skigb]

I read alot of people having trouble stuffing the cheese into the manicotti,what I use is a Pastry Bag and it works like a charm. You can pick up 20 in a box for less than a dollar (at the store I goto anyway). I have this recipe in the freezer, can't wait to try it so I can rate it.....Made this today and we really enjoyed it. Thank you for the post. **UPDATE** I no longer use manicotti noodles, I use those no cook lasagna noodles. I soak the noodles in warm water until I can bend them, pat them dry and spread the mixture over the noodles and roll them up placing them seam side down in the pan.

[Shabby Sign Shoppe]

My family really enjoyed this! I doubled the recipe to make a freezer dish and last night we had it. I prefer the frozen and baked one to the one that we ate not frozen. You know how lasagna is better the next day--same effect. Very simple and perfect for the picky eaters. TY

[Aroostook]

Made this for a lunch at work and it was a great hit!! =) The only change was I used olive oil in place of vegetable oil. Thanks for posting!