No Boil Freezer Manicotti

By carvalhohm

Ingredients

• Remaining Ingredients:
• Filling Ingredients (gallon bag)
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
• Add: 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1-8oz. package manicotti
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• Jar or can of favorite marinara sauce (I use the $1 can Hunts marinara or homemade)
• cooking spray

Details

Adapted from 5dollardinners.com

Preparation

Step 1

You start by preparing your pans with sauce in the bottom.

You dump the filling into a gallon size FREEZER bag and gently knead until it is mixed up.

Then you cut a small corner of the bag; about 1/2″. You want the filling to flow easily through the opening, but you don’t want it to pour out too quickly. Don’t cut it too small because there will be too much pressure and the bag could burst. Once you do it a couple of times, you will get the feel of piping cheese into the shells. I fill one side horizontally and then turn the shell and fill the other.

Fill all the shells dividing between two 8×8 pans or one 9×13.

Cover all the shells with the marinara sauce. I use Hunts when I don’t have time to crock pot marinara on hand.

Sprinkle the reserved cheese on top.

Cover the pans with heavy duty foil labeled with thawing and cooking instructions. This is the most important part when you’re giving a casserole away. It’s handy for people to have the instructions right at their fingertips.