Homemade Veggie Manicotti

So this goes against my not taking much time rule, cause this does take quite awhile!! I came across this recipe for homemade manicotti noodles and thought I would give it a whirl. They turned out really good, and they are SO easy. Time consuming, but easy! I ended up with wayyyyy more noodles than I thought, so I will be making more of this soon, mixing up the fillings. This time I chose to go with a veggie and cheese filling.



Recipe:

Noodles:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp salt

Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Heat skillet over medium high heat. Spray with cooking spray and spoon 1/8 of a cup of mixture into middle of skillet. Tilt skillet in a circle so batter spreads out and forms a thin circle. Cook for 2 minutes on one side, flip and cook another 1 minute. Remove from pan and place on plate. Repeat process until all batter is used up. The noodles can be stacked on top of one another, they will not stick. Makes about 24 noodles.

Filling:
1 15 oz container ricotta cheese
1 package frozen spinach
2 grated zucchinis
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 chopped onion
3 Tbsp garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil

Cook spinach according to package directions. Squeeze excess water out. Place in large boil. Add cheese to spinach. Heat skillet with olive oil over medium high heat. Place remaining ingredients into skillet and cook until tender. When done, add to bowl with spinach and cheese. Mix everything together.

Sauce:
1 jar pasta sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 onion
2 Tbsp minced garlic

Cook onions and garlic in skillet over medium high heat. Add pasta sauce and water. Stir together.

Now for the Assembly!!! Coat the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cover the bottom with sauce. Take noodles and place 2-3 spoonfuls of mixture into center. Roll up like a burrito and place seem side down in baking dish. When done, top manicotti with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and top with mozzarella cheese. Cover with tin foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Meatless Monday - Baked Broccoli Mac and Cheese

So, I'm trying out meatless Mondays, something that Cameron isn't too happy about. He's definitely a meat and potatoes kind of guy! I decided last night I was going to start doing meatless Mondays every week, so this was kind of a last minute recipe with stuff I had on hand. It has been a little chilly here in Texas the past week so some comfort food was exactly what we needed! It may not be that good for your waist line, but it sure is good!! I made a small dish just for two people, but the recipe can easily be doubled. The original mac and cheese recipe came from Kraft and can be found here. I tweaked it a bit and added the broccoli since we had some left over, and I am all about using up leftovers!!

Recipe:
4 Tbsp butter
1/8 cup of flour
1/2 cup milk
4 oz (1/4 pound) processed cheese, like Velveeta cut into 1/2 inch squares
1 cup cooked elbow macaroni
3 crackers (I used club crackers)
1 cup broccoli (I used roasted broccoli from this recipe, although plain uncooked broccoli could be used)

Preheat oven to 375. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in a saucepan and whisk in flour. Add milk gradually and stir until thickened. Add cheese and stir until melted. Add noodles and broccoli, stir to coat. Spray small baking dish nonstick cooking spray. Spoon in macaroni. Mix crushed crackers with 1 Tbsp melted butter and sprinkle on top. Bake for 20 minutes.