Old-World Manicotti

Okay, so the picture does this dish NO justice. But if you can step-aside from the horrible picture, you'll find a cheesy, gooey, lovely manicotti recipe.

We had this last night with this tuscan flat bread (thanks Ariel). We even whipped out the olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette for dipping sauce! Mmmm.

ingredients:

12 large manicotti shells

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

2 cups ricotta cheese

6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, or 2 tablespoons dried

1 (26-oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce, divided

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

instructions:

1 Preheat oven to 350. Spray 13x9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

2 Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels.

3 For filling, in medium bowl, stir together 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh basil. Using a teaspoon (or your hands!), carefully stuff pasta shells with prepared cheese mixture.

4 Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

5 Bake manicotti for 15 min. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for another 10 mins. Serve immediately.