Chicken Spinach Manicotti

By Addie

I’ve been watching “The Sopranos” so I’ve started craving for Italian food. In the show, the characters keep referring to “manigot”. I finally did a Google search, and it turns out that “manigot” is just a shortened way of saying “manicotti”! Weird, huh?

Well traditional manicotti just has cheese, but I decided to go with a different variety for a little protein. It turned out really yummy and it was a nice change of place!

Ingredients

• 1-2 cups cooked, shredded chicken – I boiled chicken, but you can always use left overs or buy precooked chicken.
• 2 cups whole milk, shredded mozzarella cheese
• 15 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese
• 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped finely
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 1 box of manicotti noodles
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1/2 tbsp. pepper
• Marinara

Preparation

Step 1

Cook noodles according to the box, which is generally boiling for about 7 minutes. Lay noodles flat on aluminum foil as you prepare the mix.

Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees.

Combine cheeses, spinach, parsley, salt, pepper, slightly scrambled eggs and chicken in a bowl. Reserve about a handful of mozzarella cheese.

Spread marinara at the bottom of a glass or ceramic baking dish. I recommend using one that is rectangular or square.
Using a small spoon, carefully spoon cheese mixture in each noodle. I tried piping the mix in, but the chicken and spinach made it a little difficult. Try not to over-stuff because you might split the noodle.

Carefully arranged filled noodles in the baking dish.

When the dish is filled, pour more marinara on top. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for about 40 mins. Remove foil, and bake for an additional 15 minutes for cheese to brown. Remove from oven and enjoy!
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Additional Notes:
I think I poured too much sauce on top. So watch how heavy handled you get!