Food Network Inspired Dinner

Yesterday morning, my usual Saturday morning show "This Old House" led to programming on HGTV and then the Food Network. My daughter and I watched Paula Deen flirt with some Italian chef who has a restaurant in Vegas, while making stuffed manicotti. I'm not sure if it was the good nature flirting, or my slight hunger at the time, but I wanted to try and make my own manicotti. While surfing for a good recipe to use on www.AllRecipes.com, Ina Garten's show came on and her Raspberry Crumble Bars sounded equally intriguing. The cool thing about being connected to the Internet 24X7, is the ability to hook up and download just about anything. I found Ina Garten's recipe and made note of the ingredients we needed. After reading comments on a few manicotti recipes, I had a game plan.

Everything turned out fantastic! I didn't photograph my manicotti, but I was surprised how easy it all went together. I'm not a professional chef, but I used a gallon-size ziploc bag to squeeze the stuffing into the cooked shells. My stuffing included ricotta, mozerella and parmesan cheese, spinach, and a small amount of Italian sausage. For the sauce, I doctored up some cheap canned tomato sauce with minced garlic, fresh parsley and Italian seasons. My advice? Let anything be your inspiration--you may be surprised at your results (and your tummy will thank you!)