Cheese Manicotti with Eggplant & Meat Sauce
4May2009 Filed under: Confessions, Daily Meals, Ethnic Grocers, Interesting Ingredients Author: Tiara Lynn
CONFESSION: I hate eating at Italian restaurants. Italian food is one of my favorites to eat, but whenever I order traditional Italian at a restaurant I tend to think “I can make this better.”
To make restaurant quality meals shortcut-style I love the frozen pastas at my local Butera Market, and this cheese stuffed manicotti is one of my favorites. The sauce is a mix of baby eggplant, onion, spinach and garlic sauteed ’til the eggplant was nice and soft. I added some seasoned ground beef and a jar of tomato basil sauce, topped it off with mozzarella and fresh grated parmesan, and baked it for 45 minutes.
Easily restaurant quality for under $3 a serving!!
I Confess…
All my cakes come from boxes. My spaghetti sauce isn't from scratch, and I think making my own pasta and bread (unless it comes from a mix…) is rarely worth the effort. I believe individually frozen chicken breasts and ready-made pie crusts are among the best inventions ever. Through these menus, recipes, tips and recommendations, I hope to show that the options for creative cooking are limitless, even when time and money are not.
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