The 2fer Dinner - Day One

The other day I couldn't decide what to make for dinner. It was one of

those clean out the pantry days. So we had a 2fer dinner, two meals, two days, (somewhat) same ingredients.

Day One:

Four Cheese Stuffed Manicotti & Meatballs Bolognese

I've had manicotti in my pantry for a while. I've been hesitant to make it since I used to get flash forward images in my head of broken manicotti pieces and ricotta cheese ALL OVER my hands, counter, shirt, everywhere except inside the pasta.

But I figured out a way to make the whole process painless and delicious.

FOUR CHEESE STUFFED MANICOTTI

1 Large tub of ricotta cheese

1 cup Shredded Colby & Cheddar or any other cheese blend

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 Package Manicotti (about 7)

1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce

2 eggs

• Preheat oven to 350.

• Add the manicotti to water that is at a rolling boil. Cook NO MORE than 7 minutes or else they will break. When done remove from heat and replace the water with a little bit of cold water & olive oil. Keep in that water until ready to stuff.

• In a bowl mix all the cheeses and eggs.

• Use a sandwich bag and open up inside a drinking glass. This will make it easy to fill the bag with the cheese mixture. Fill the bag halfway and push towards one corner, cut the tip (about 1/4 inch).

(Think of a cake piping or cobbler in a bag)

• Pour enough sauce in the pan to cover the bottom. Fill the Manicotti (you'll have about half the cheese left over) and lay in a single layer. Pour more sauce on top (save some for the meatballs). Bake 25 mins, add more cheese and bake another 5. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

MEATBALLS BOLOGNESE

(I just threw this together so the measurements are a guesstimate)

1 package ground beef

1/2 cup cooked chopped bacon

1 cup thawed, drained, chopped spinach

1 container chopped chicken livers (you may hesitate but it makes the meatballs very rich and high in iron!)

1 cup bread crumbs

1 tbl each basil, Italian parsley, minced garlic (dry or fresh)

1 egg

• Mix together all the ingredients and form meatballs about half the size of a golf ball.
• Heat vegetable, canola, or olive oil and fry meatballs. You can also bake them for 40 mins at 375 (They won't have the crunchy outer shell but that is the sacrifice you make for health)
• Serve with some heated spaghetti sauce.
• Save some cooked meatballs for the next meal or freeze.