The Best Cheese Manicotti

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 7
• 1 (14 count) box manicotti
• 1 jar marinara sauce (bertolliâ??s burgundy wine is the best)
• 1 (30 ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese (more if you like a lot of cheese)
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese (not grated)
• italian seasoning
• basil
• salt and pepper (optional)
• minced garlic (optional)

Recipe

• 1 cook the manicotti shells according to the directions on the box.
• 2 drain in colander and set aside to dry.
• 3 mix all the ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, and 1/4 cup parmesan in a bowl.
• 4 add an extra handful of mozzarella and a little more parmesan if you like it cheesier.
• 5 i like a lot of flavor in my manicotti so i just keep adding the basil and italian seasoning until i think it’s enough.
• 6 if you don’t like a lot of seasoning, just put 1 tsp.
• 7 of each in.
• 8 if not, just keep adding until it's seasoned to your taste.
• 9 you can also add a dash of salt and pepper if you like or a little bit of garlic.
• 10 preheat oven to 350.
• 11 once the shells are drained and the cheese is mixed together, begin stuffing the shells.
• 12 be careful because they have a tendency to split.
• 13 pour about half of the marinara sauce in the bottom of the baking dish and spread evenly before you place the shells in the dish.
• 14 once all the shells arranged in the baking dish, pour the remainder of the marinara sauce on top.
• 15 then add any leftover cheese on top of the sauce.
• 16 sprinkle with basil and italian seasoning.
• 17 cover with aluminum foil.
• 18 bake for about 30 minutes.