Italian Manicotti with Meat Sauce

 Italian Manicotti  with Meat Sauce is rich and cheesy, you can make it without the Meat or use Italian Sausage if you like. This is so good you need to make it

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6 servings

What you Need:

1 pound fresh spinach, stems trimmed and well washed or a 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
Kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
12-14 manicotti shells(depends on brand)
3 cups meat marinara sauce, recipe follows
1  cups ricotta cheese (about 1 pound)

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (we like it thicker so we use more of this cheese)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese or a mixture of half Pecorino and Parmesan
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, and season generously with salt. Fill a medium bowl with ice water and season with salt, as well. Boil the spinach, uncovered, until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, (do not drain), and immediately plunge the spinach into the ice water. Drain and squeeze the excess water from the spinach, and finely chop. Alternatively, if using thawed spinach, simply squeeze, and finely chop.

In the same large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta shells until al dente, tender but still slightly firm. Drain and pat dry. (I cook the pasta about 7 minutes so it's firm to stuff)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cover the bottom of a 9- x 13-inch ovenproof baking dish with 1 cup of the marinara sauce. In a medium mixing bowl, evenly combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and 1/3 cup of the Parmesan, the eggs, and the spinach. Season with the 1/2 teaspoon salt, nutmeg, and pepper to taste. Spoon the cheese mixture into the manicotti shell and line them up in the baking dish. Cover with the remaining sauce. Scatter the remaining cheese on top and dot with the butter. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Meat Marinara Sauce

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 medium onion, diced (about 3 tablespoons)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 1/2 cups whole, peeled, canned tomatoes in puree, (one 28-ounce can), roughly chopped
Sprig of fresh thyme
Sprig of fresh basil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in the salt and season with pepper to taste. Use now, or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Steps to make it:

chop your veggies up, 

I have frozen spinach to add(optional

The cheeses

How to mix your cheese

put cheese into a baggie, cut the corner off to fill shells