Semi-Homemade Manicotti

My husband is 50% Italian.  I love Italian food.  I love my hubby.  Not in that order ;-)

I made manicotti recently and it was good. I thought I would share the recipe with you guys today.

I started off with one pound of ground turkey meat.  To that I added some chopped green bell pepper, half of a chopped onion, a big ole spoonful of minced garlic and a generous dashing of Italian seasoning.  I browned it up nicely in the skillet. It looked like this when I was done: 

Next, I mixed up the cheese mixture.  I used one container of Ricotta cheese, fresh mozzarella, I egg beaten and a lot of basil:

This is my secret ingredient:

Have you tried fresh mozzarella?  If not, you totally should.  It is awesome.
Next, I mixed the meat mixture together with the cheese mixture and then it looked like this:

During this time, I have also boiled my manicotti shells until they are al dente.

Once they have drained and cooled, it is time to start stuffing them with the meat and cheese mixture!

Some of my shells split apart.  But, they will taste the same y'all.

Next, open your favorite kind of red pasta sauce.

I chose this kind:

I would be fancy if I made my own sauce, but I don't.  I use the cans of sauce. And look! Antioxidants! Healthiness!

Pour the sauce over the top of the manicotti shells; cover pasta well.

And here is what I do next:

I toss the rest of the fresh mozzarella on top! Oh my!

I put this in the oven at 350 degrees until it starts bubbling.  

Also? You should totally have some buttery garlicky bread with this.  And maybe a salad to feel healthier! But that's not mandatory.  But the bread is!