Yes, you heard right…

It’s Cannelloni Time Y’all

(BTW, I can say y’all.  I’m from Kansas.)

Anyway, my friend Karen was bragging that she was making fresh cannelloni from scratch tonight (bragger) and I admit, it made me really hungry.  And it got me thinking, this is #meatlessmonday, I could do a meatless version that would be just as delicious, just as filling, and not use the meat found in most recipes.

Yay me!

So without further ado…

Making Cannelloni

The big decision with this dish was what set of vegetarian ingredients to put in the filling.   I was tempted to thaw some Match frozen sausage, but that’s another recipe, another time.  Instead, I stuck with a simple ricotta, spinach, garlic filling that is very easy to make.

You will need:

• 8 cannelloni shells
• 1/2 package frozen spinach
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups ricotta
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 4 cups Marinara
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 350.

Boil the cannelloni in salted water according to package ingredients.  Let them cool.  (Unlike lasagna noodles, I like to let my canneloni sit out and cool.)

In a separate container, boil the spinach according to it’s directions.  Remove the spinach from the water and boil the garlic for about 30 seconds to take some of the edge off of it.

Then take the spinach to the sink and squeeze out as much water as you can.  (Spinach can hold a lot of water.  Don’t be afraid to use your hands to really get the water out.)  Then mix the spinach, garlic, ricotta, and parsley.

Put about two to four heaping tablespoons of the filling into each cannelloni shell and then rest each filled pasta into a oven safe dish.  Top with marinara and shredded cheese.  Bake until the cheese is melted and slightly brown.

Serve and enjoy! 

Question: How do you do your cannelloni?

Thanks to ms.Tea for the picture.