Our Horses Came Home

While we were at it, one of the most used things on this property is, believe it or not, the riding arena. There were a lot of boards that needed replacing, and we replaced 45 out of 90 and one post, but with lumber and steel prices skyrocketing during the pandemic, I hope to replace the other 45 boards in the near future. I also plan on staining/weatherproofing the new boards, adding solar fairy lights and eventually adding some type of shade to the arena, may be in the form of sail shades – but of course I’ll get pics of the project once it’s ongoing. As for the gardens, I’ve decided that we will have a minimal vegetable garden this year with all that’s going on here, and I’ll still put together my fairy garden when the weather warms for planting.

As for TV streaming, I’ve slowed a bit this month with the work here. It’s hard to watch more than an hour or so of TV before I’m too exhausted from working all day. I am back to my normal reading again, with the immediate stress of the horses safety now straightened out, things are getting back to a new normal. Until next month...

Other good news, I will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of April, with my first appointment on April 2, three days before my birthday. A welcome gift.

My recipe this month is a my famous Hearty Stuffed Manicotti. My daughter asks for this recipe a few times a year and I finally got busy and made it. I hope you’ll share if you make any of the recipes I share.

©Copyright 2021 Cyrene Olson www.uncagedbooks.com Cyrene@UncagedBooks.com

| A LIFE In MOTIOn cOLUMn |

Hearty Stuffed Manicotti

Ingredients:

1 lb. manicotti noodles

5 cups spaghetti sauce of your choice - this can be anything that you like and normally use. One day I’ll share our family spaghetti sauce recipe that was taught to us by an Italian neighbor years ago.

1 lg container ricotta cheese 8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese 4 oz. shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese mix 1 cup shredded fresh parmesan cheese 1 tsp. basil 1 1/2 TB parsley (fresh works best) 1 tsp. salt 2 TB sugar

1) Cook the manicotti noodles per package, and add a tablespoon of oil to the water to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other or the pan.

2) After they are cooked, drain and lay the noodles out on some wax paper.

3) While the manicotti is cooking, mix together - ricotta, 8 oz mozzarella, parsley, basil, salt and sugar. Mix until creamy and don’t forget to taste test. Ricotta is a great cheese to cook with (and freeze), but it needs help in the flavor dept. You may need to add a bit more salt or sugar to your liking. Do not put this in blender or mixer, you need the stiffness when filling the shells so mix by hand. Don’t ask 4) If you don’t have a frosting bag, (which I don’t) you can spoon the ricotta cheese mix into a ziploc baggie and cut a half inch hole in the corner. Squeeze the mixture into the shells until full. Fill all the shells, if you fill them like I do, you may have one shell left over.

5) Spread 2 cups of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. If you have to, spray or treat the bottom of the pan first.

6) Lay out the noodles next to each other and even longwise to get them all in the pan. Don’t worry about overcrowding them, that won’t bother anything.

7) Spoon the remaining spaghetti sauce over the top of the noodles and spread to cover.

8) Add the shredded mozzarella/provolone cheese mix and the parmesan cheese to the top.

Serve with a salad and hot bread. This will feed 6 easily.

Manicotti will freeze very well, so this is a great dish even for a couple people as you can freeze and have it on a day you don’t feel like cooking.

This is a well-loved recipe at our house. I’ve served it to family and guests with great success. Let me know if you try it!

Until next month:

Happy Cooking!

feature authors

contemporary | fantasy

Mary Ellen Bramwell d.A. Henneman Shane Wilson

MARY ELLE n BRAMWELL

Mary Ellen Bramwell, an award-winning and best-selling author, has been writing short stories since she was ten. Other than writing, her favorite accomplishments are being a mother and running the Cleveland Area Chapter of Project Linus, a charity that provides homemade blankets to children who are ill or traumatized. She is the mother of five and currently lives with her youngest son and her husband of over 35 years in the Mountain West.