Easy Weeknight String Cheese-Stuffed Manicotti

This is the quickest, easiest baked pasta dish that you'll probably ever make. {And, it only uses five ingredients.} With only about ten minutes of hands-on prep time {no need to even pre-boil the pasta}, you can toss this in the oven while you whip up a quick side salad and maybe get some garlic bread made up. It's perfect for busy weeknights and is an extremely kid-friendly dinner option.

This no-frills and no-fuss baked manicotti recipe really couldn't be easier. After a quick soak in hot water, the pasta shells get stuffed with string cheese before being baked off in a sea of good-quality, store-bought marinara sauce. A sprinkling of shredded mozzarella atop it all ensures an end result of bubbly, gooey, cheesy goodness amidst all that sauce - everything that a good pasta bake should be.

NOTE: Preparation of the pasta following my recipe directions yields al dente manicotti {still slightly firm}. If your family prefers very soft, almost mushy pasta, you may desire to boil noodles according to manicotti package instructions - ending the cooking a couple of minutes shy of the recommended time on package - prior to assembly of the dish.

Yields 4 - 5 servings.

Skillet Chicken Parmesan Over Pasta

This recipe is a simple variation of traditional Chicken Parmesan.  The chicken and sauce can be served with whatever pasta you prefer.  Once the pasta is cooked, everything comes together in one pan.  We're skipping the heavy breading and deep frying here, so you can kind of consider this a bit of a lighter version ...  although there is a bit of butter on the ingredient list and a good amount of cheese.  Cheese, glorious cheese.

 

 

This dish stretches two large chicken breasts into one meal that will serve around four people, so it's pretty economical, too.  And, if you wanted to make this even more healthful, you can skip the light coating of breadcrumbs altogether and simply just sauté the chicken breasts (seasoned with the salt, pepper and Italian herbs) in a little olive oil all.

This dish went over splendidly in the Joyously Domestic household.  It makes for a pretty easy and satisfying weeknight dinner option. The process is pretty straightforward.  Boil off the pasta.  Lightly coat the chicken with salt, pepper, herbs and breadcrumbs.  Sauté the chicken in a bit of olive oil, then remove it from the skillet.  Place the cooked pasta down in the skillet, nestle in the chicken, spoon on some good-quality marinara sauce, top with lots of cheese, allow everything to become bubbly in the oven and then grab a fork!

Yields 4 servings.