Spinach Manicotti with Italian Sausage Marinara

Decided to make manicotti this go-round because I couldn't find jumbo shells at the store to make stuffed shells. Great results ensued from this off-the-cuff recipe, and I'm going to try to remember this for later. Hence, here it is!

A couple of things to preface this recipe -- the back of the manicotti package said that 15 oz. of ricotta would fill 8 manicotti. With the spinach added in to my 15 oz. ricotta, I ended up filling all 14 manicotti in the package, but I did underfill them a bit to stretch the mixture. But even underfilled, my husband and I were full after 2 manicotti each.  I cooked some tonight, and froze a casserole pan with the rest for later, so this will last us.

Spinach Manicotti with Italian Sausage Marinara

Ingredients:

• 14 manicotti, cooked according to package (about 9-10 minutes, al dente)
• 5 oz. spinach (frozen is fine-- thaw ahead)
• 15 oz. ricotta
• 1 egg
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
• Italian cheese to throw on top

What to do:

1. Cook manicotti according to package, and set aside.
2. Cook Italian sausage fully, drain. Pour in marinara sauce.
3. Blend ricotta, egg, garlic, spinach, and 1 c. shredded cheese in food processor until smooth. This is the filling.
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Spread some marinara on bottom of pan to prevent sticking, and pipe filling into the manicotti (*see helper hints below). Pour marinara with sausage over top, and then cover with a nice layer of cheese.
6. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

*Manicotti are annoying to fill. Pour the filling into a freezer bag, cut a SMALL hole in a bottom corner, and pipe it out. I emphasize small because I always cut it way too big and make a giant mess.  Another hint I
read online was to just slit the manicotti open, fill them, and then reseal them, but I feel like that defeats the purpose of having a closed tube pasta, and then it spills out everywhere when you go to eat it. I mean, it will taste the same, but doesn't hold together the same.

Other notes: Normally, I would be lazy and skip the food processor so I don't have to clean it. Don't do that! If you add spinach, it makes it such a nice texture and consistency when you throw it all in the food processor. And you can probably throw it into the dishwasher anyway.