Vegan Manicotti

I cannot tell a lie, there was ONE ingredient on this list that is not vegan, but I cannot have manicotti with out it...ricotta cheese!

Ingredients (prices vary and feel free to take away and add to the filling as you wish!)

Manicotti Shells

Vegan Ground Soy Meat -aka "ground beef" ;)

Vegan Shredded Cheese- I used the mozzarella flavor

Raw Spinach

Mushrooms

Red Onion

Yellow Squash

Zucchini

Ricotta Cheese

And any red sauce of your choice

To Make:

Start by boiling water and cook the shells according to the package instructions. Make sure to salt the water while it comes to a boil...adds good flavor! Also, go ahead and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

While that is happening, add the entire package of soy meat to a pan with a little bit of olive oil or butter. Let this just kind of warm up, it really does not need to cook. I would only use medium-low heat.

In another pan add diced mushrooms, diced onions, cut zucchini and squash, and top it with a heaping amount of raw spinach. I like to put the spinach on top because is keeps the heat in while the other ingredients are cooking and it wilts slower this way! Again, add a bit of olive oil or butter, salt and pepper.

Now in a bowl to the side go ahead and put the entire container of ricotta cheese and add to it about 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning, mix well.

Once the manicotti noodles are done cooking put them out on a plate to kind of dry, this will make the stuffing of the shells MUCH easier! Add the cooked veggies and the soy beef to the ricotta mix and stir it all up. Go ahead and get yourself out a nice size pan or baking dish to put the manicotti in.

To the fun part...shell stuffing! This is one messy, messy task but we had fun with it. Take a shell and carefully (I used a small spoon and my fingers) stuff each shell as full as you can with the ricotta/veggie/beef mixture. If the shells break it is okay! You are going to smother them in sauce and cheese anyways!

Put the shells in the pan nice and tight together and lather your choice of red sauce all over top! Make sure the sauce gets on every shell! Lastly, take your shredded soy cheese and evenly distribute it over the shells. I like to sprinkle a little more Italian seasoning on top and bake for about 45 minutes. Enjoy this guilt free, almost vegan meal!! :)

                                       xxxx, A