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.

Coconut Curry Soup with Roasted Chickpeas

When your husband of two decades declares that your first go-round of making Coconut Curry Soup produced "the best soup you've ever made" and you alone eat two large bowls in one sitting, there's a good chance that you've got a killer new soup recipe on your hands. {We won't even discuss the close-to-legit fight the two of us had over the remainder of soup in the bottom of the pot.} Seriously. We are in love. With soup. Smitten. {#soupfling}

Sooooo, in celebration of the new year, I bring you this healthful, vibrant, ethereal soup as my first post of 2018. It is - all at once - rich, delicate, hearty, dainty, subtly-spiced, broth-y, creamy and light. And, it's adorned with the most-glorious of toppings to kinda meld soup and salad into one dish. Perfection.

It's flavor profile and ingredient list is just enough off the beaten path - in terms of traditional soup for many of us - to be adventurous. But, it's simple enough to make and familiar enough to eat - especially for those already accustom to curry.

The soup takes just around thirty minutes to make from beginning to end. Be sure not to skip the roasted chickpeas, by the way. They shine nestled atop the soup among the other finishing touches.

I mentioned the soup's heavenly deliciousness. Luckily for all of us, it is, also, incredibly healthy. I consider it quite qualified to propel many of us through our January resolutions of healthier eating ... a lunch or dinner option that fits in nicely with our commitments to incorporate more fresh, wholesome dishes into our lives.

Now go make soup. And, may you all begin a love affair with this particular recipe as I have done.

Serves 4. {Easily doubled and does reheat quite well.}