November 23rd: Make ahead meal: Manicotti

Verdict:
Toss: manicotti
Try Again: sausage tomato sauce

Here I am, still alive. That's an enjoyable place to be.

The last couple of weeks, I've been dedicating some weekend time to preparing food to put in the freezer, in preparation for surgery week (that's now!). Two days ago, I pulled the first meal out of the freezer and left it in the fridge for two days to thaw, and tonight we had, from Cook's Illustrated: Streamlined Manicotti. At least, that's what they're calling it. Let me tell you, this was a labour-intensive project on the prep side, and a time-intensive project on the cooking side. This recipe will not be kept, which is unfortunate after all the work I put into it. I'm attaching a link, but it doesn't work because (annoying) they don't post all their recipes online for free. I would type it out for you, but hey, it sucked, and right now I'm not interested in promoting Cook's Illustrated.

Here's what I wrote the night I made it, a Sunday night a few weeks back:

I was tired tonight because I spent two hours making manicotti after Olivia went to bed, which is going in the freezer to eat in a couple weeks' time. More on that later. My feet and calves are killing me. Bed calls.

I have problems with both oven-ready noodles and ricotta. This recipe promises to streamline the process of making manicotti. It took me two hours of prep, prior to cooling, freezing, defrosting and cooking. That, to me, is not streamlined.

And, sure enough, after eating:

I haven't liked ricotta in the past, thought I'd give it one last try, and have now vowed never to buy it again. The oven-ready noodles (lasagna noodles rolled up to form manicotti) came out mushy. Even after 40 hours of defrosting in the fridge, the dish took way longer in the oven than the recipe called for. Every time I checked it, the centre was still cold. One of my least favourite things to do as a mother is tell my 2 year old that supper will be "a little longer." If a recipe tells me it will take 75 minutes to bake, and it takes 105, I turn into a cranky mama.

Okay, we all know I'm not a pasta fan, right? It behooves me to say that G & O did like supper tonight, however, it was agreed we would toss the recipe. And alright, I will give the recipe this: delicious sauce. I opted for the sausage version, which goes like this:

Sausage tomato sauce
2 (28-oz) cans diced tomatoes in juice
2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
2 tbsps chopped fresh basil leaves

1) Pulse 1 can tomatoes with their juice in food processor until coarsely chopped, 3 or 4 pulses. Transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining can tomatoes.
2) Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook sausage, stirring to break it into pieces, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes.
3) Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 tsp salt and simmer until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Stir in basil; season with salt to taste.