Manicotti

So in continuing that Valentine's day theme, sometimes when you cook for someone, you shouldn't use a mix instead slave a bit to make a delicious meal. In this case, the manicotti turned out beautifully, and if I would be with someone (eventually), they would have enjoyed it.

1 lb bulk pork sausage
Prego tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) carton ricotta cheese
3 cups shedded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1 tsp parsley flakes
12 manicotti noodles, cooked, rinsed and drained
Grated Parmesan Cheese

In a large saucepa, brown sausage, drain. Then combine in a medium bowl, sausage, , ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, egg, and parsley. In a 13X9X2 inch baking dish, pour 1/3 spaghetti sauce, so it covers the bottom. Stuff manicotti noodles with ricotta noodles and place on top of the sauce. Pour the remaning sauce over filled noodles, top with reaming mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesean. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 20 minutes.

Whoopie Pies

Sometimes on valentines day you want to do something simple, and romantic. Not that I would know, but cookies can be romantic. Even if they are from a mix. For this post I used a mix from stone wall kitchen that contained directions to make the aforementioned pies.

Well, this is embarrassing, I can't really post the recipe because it is from a mix, even though you do add stuff to it. Anyway, they turned out delicious, and it also had a good recipe for frosting, which is just powdered sugar, milk, vanilla... and a bit of pink food coloring.

Meatloaf

Sometimes I can be hungry. As surprising as that is, sometimes I just want something to be warm, hearty, and can eat it later anywhere. One great example of that is meatloaf. You can have meatloaf, a meatloaf sandwich, or just a meatloaf milkshake, doesn't that sound great?

1 pound ground beef
1 cup herbed seasoning stuffing
2 eggs, beaten to blend
1/4 c ketchup
3 Tbs minced fresh parsley (or dried parsley)
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 garlic cloves, minced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing throrougly. Transfer micture to a greased 8 1/2 X 4 1/2 inch loaf plan. Bake until meat loaf shrinks from sides of pan and top is brown, about 1 hour, and serve.