Ingredients
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1 medium onion, finely chopped
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3 cloves garlic, minced
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1 tablespoon vegetable oil (canola or olive)
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1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
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1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded,divided (4 ounces)
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4 ounces cream cheese, softened
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6 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated,divided
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1/2 teaspoon black pepper
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1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
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8 manicotti, cooked and drained acording to package directions
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1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
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1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
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1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Instructions
- In a small skillet, saute onion and garlic in oil for about 3 minutes, set aside.
- In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, just 1/2 cup of the mozarella, all of the cream cheese, just 4 Tbsp of the Parmesan,the Italian seasoning, and the pepper until smooth.
- Add the onion mixture to the cheese mixture, along with the spinach (along with a dash to taste of both freshly grated nutmeg and some cinnamon).
- Fill the cooked manicotti noodles either with a spoon or by piping the mixture (using a decorating bag or a ziptop bag with one end snipped off).
- Pour half of the sauce into the bottom of a greased 9x13" casserole.
- Place filled manicotti in the pan on top of the sauce, then pour the remaining sauce over the top.
- Cover an bake at 350 F 25 minutes.
- Remove the cover, sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and bake another 5-10 minutes more to melt cheese.