NO-Ricotta Maniciotti - skip going to the store...

Every time I want to make manicotti I hesitate because I’m missing one of the main ingredients - ricotta cheese. Every time I make a special trip to the store to buy it, I ask myself “Why? I don’t even like this stuff...” But I ALWAYS have cottage cheese on hand. Try this easy-to-stuff version and you’ll never miss the real ricotta version.

Ricotta cheese is one of those things you either love or dislike - and it is the LATTER with me. I am NOT Italian, so it doesn’t make any difference to me - and I’ve always thought Ricotta was dry, bland, and tasteless. So when I DO purchase it, the extras always spoil in the refrigerator before I can get them used up.

A few weeks ago, out of desperation I tried beating up a pint of cottage cheese to use in place of Ricotta cheese. It turned out almost identical in the recipe I used it in. So the ultimate test would be to substitute it in Manicotti. Again - I was pleasantly surprised.

This uses the Hearty Spaghetti Sauce recipe from yesterday’s post - and we thrived on it. The Italian sausage in the sauce added such a new dimension over standard bottled spaghetti sauce. But, in a pinch - bottled spaghetti sauce works well also.

Find this recipe, photos, and instructions at:
www.changeabletable.com ("full house" tab)