I am a huge fan of Italian food, but my favorite Italian dishes are pastas that are stuffed with cheese. (I am a big lover of cheese too. 
) So I decided to try something I had never tried before and went with Manicotti Florentine that was filled with cheese and spinach. I had seen a recipe that called for mushrooms, cheese, and spinach, but I am not a big fan of mushrooms so I took those out of the recipe. Italian foods are usually very heavy, so make sure when you are hungry you are VERY hungry, because a few of these on a plate can fill you up big time! I also have a bread maker, so I did accompany it with some bread and butter which is always good to eat with the marinara sauce. Here is the recipe if you want to try:
Ingredients You Will Need:
1/2 pound spinach, chopped or frozen and thawed
1 pound ricotta cheese, or cottage cheese
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
16 manicotti noodles
2 cups spaghetti sauce
Steam chopped spinach until wilted (or use thawed frozen spinach). Combine ricotta, mozzarella, 3/4 cup of the Parmesan, eggs, parsley and spices. Add spinach and 3/4 of saute to mixture. Fill uncooked manicotti shells; place filled shells in a single layer in a greased 13- x 9-inch baking pan. Add remaining saute to spaghetti sauce. Cover manicotti with sauce. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.
Excuse the picture quality, but I grabbed whatever I had nearby before I grubbed on the tasty spinach and cheese filled Manicotti. Next time I’ll make sure to have my new camera around for a clear picture. If you’re wondering what I have on top of the marinara sauce, it is freshly grated Parmesan which is way better than pre-packaged. Anyway, if you do try let me know how it comes out!
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Look at you, last time I checked, it was Video Game Nerd #4 and a few days later mmm mmm mmm’n!
Loving it, and, this looks quite appealing if I might say so myself. I love me some italian (although I usually tend to go light on the red sauce as the bastard-snack gives me heartburn 
), ESPECIALLY with your cheese, spinach and parsley herb approach. Ahhhh…