Manicotti

This is for sure a dish from my past. By past, I mean like 30 years ago. This pasta dish was a "go to" to order at the only Italian resturaunt around when I was growing up. Can you imagine only a few Italian resturaunts years ago, where there is now 100's?? Manicotti absolutely dates me, you just dont see it on many menus anymore, I cant imagine why. It is probably easier to make then lasagna, the ingredients are pretty much the same, it can be made as heavy or light as one would want. I made a spinach version, and opted to make it meatless, but a ground beef filled manicotti would be delish and very kid friendly in my house. Now that I have been reminded of Manicotti and how good it is, we will be making it again Im certain.

iongredients
1 box manicotti shells(you will have to go to local grocerystore for these)
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parm cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup frozen spinach(thawed)
1/2 jar favorite prepared sauce
1 cup mozarella cheese

boil noodles according to instruction
thaw spinach and drain any excess moisture as good as possible, I usually place spinach in a collander and put it in the sink and press down on spinach to release all the liquid, I will do that for a few minutes
in bowl combine ricotta, parm, bread crumbs, and spinach
season with salt and pepper
when noodles are cooked, drain them and let cool
coat bottom of baking pan with tomato sauce
start to fill shells with ricotta mixture
as they are filled, line then up in baking pan vertically, if there is room on ends place remaining horizontally
top with sauce and cheese
bake in oven for 40 minutes at 350
remove from oven, let stand 10 minutes to cool

slice and serve