Ronzoni's Cheese-Filled Manicotti

The hint of nutmeg really makes this dish. You can use storebought spaghetti sauce or my Julie's Spaghetti Sauce or make a white sauce. When we have company I like to to make half red sauce and half white sauce. They look beautiful that way in the pan.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 7
• Yields: 14 tubes

Ingredients

• 8  ounces  manicotti
• 2 (15 ounce) containers ricotta cheese
• 8  ounces  shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1⁄2 cup  grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 3  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley, divided
• 2  eggs
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 14  ounces  spaghetti sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and lay flat on foil to cool.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add most of the ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan, leaving just enough to sprinkle over the top later. Also add the eggs and seasonings and mix well.
4. Spoon or pipe about 1/3 c cheese mixture into each pasta tube and place in a 13 x 9 pan.
5. Pour spaghetti sauce over filled pasta, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella, parmesan and parsley.
6. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
7. NOTE: To make a white sauce, take equal parts butter and flour, melt and brown in pan, taking care not to burn it. Add a pinch of salt and nutmeg, then cream or milk slowly, to reach the right consistency. For this recipe, you would need about 1/2 cup each of butter and flour and about 3 c of cream or milk.