Spinach And Ham Manicotti

I can’t believe it was 2010 when I last made these and I actually made the ricotta for them that time.  This time, I used store bought ricotta, the same crepe recipe (doubled) and a different filling.

Crepes – From Plain Chicken

Ingredients for double recipe: 14 Manicotti

2 cup flour

2 cup milk (or more as needed to achieve a thin-pancake batter consistency)

2 egg, beaten

½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Stir milk gradually with flour until smooth.  Add, stirring constantly, the beaten egg to which the salt has been added.  For each shell, spray a preheated 6-inch frying pan with olive oil cooking spray, and pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan, tilting back and forth so that it spreads evenly. I didn't need to spray my non stick skillet.

2. When set on one side (30-35 seconds), turn and let the other side set (10 seconds). Slide off pan onto a clean work surface or dish and repeat until batter is used. (I separate the crepes with a piece of waxed paper to prevent them from sticking to each other).

Filling – 14 six inch manicotti – Adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:

22 oz. ricotta cheese

10 oz. package Picksweet frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained

1 C. diced ham, browned in a skillet

¾ C. minced onion, softened with the ham

2 eggs, beaten

3 t. minced fresh parsley

¾ t. pepper

½ t. kosher salt

1/3 t. garlic powder

2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

¾ C. grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Add the ham to a med hot skillet and brown on a couple of sides, slide it to one side and add the onion to the empty side then put the ham atop the onion and spread evenly in the pan.  After the onion cooks a few minutes, flip mixture a few times and put in a bowl to cool.

3. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, ham, onion egg, parsley, pepper and garlic powder.

4. Mix in 1½ cups mozzarella and ½ cup Parmesan.

5. Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of two 9x13 inch baking dishes. 

6. Stuff manicotti shells with 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture, and arrange in a single layer in the dishes. 

7. Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.

I made all of mine in one and two manicotti individual serving dishes following the same assembly process.

8. Bake in preheated oven about 25 minutes or until bubbly.

My pre and post baking shots turned out poorly but they looked just like those from 2010.

Once again they were a big hit and the filling turned out very good – browning the ham made the flavor stand out a little more.  Everyone preferred the crepes over store bought noodles and since they are so quick and easy, I see no reason not to always make them.  The one negative is that the individual dishes take a lot more sauce and I could have used more - we all agreed that we should make them in large dishes next time.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

2/6/18 Meal Date