A warm welcome to the new visitors are stopping by thanks to the newspaper article today in the Oklahoma State University O’Colly. Hope you’re enjoying finding out more about my passion for agriculture and most especially beef promotion.

Today I wanted to post something with ag facts about Oklahoma. Since I am a student here at OSU, I’ve learned neat agriculture aspects about this state.

Oklahoma is the 5th largest beef producing state and the 5th largest producer of wheat, and the 27th most agriculturally producing state.  In my capstone class for Agricultural Communications we produce a magazine, Cowboy Journal and my professor Shelly Sitton says that if we write stories about cattle or wheat, you’re writing stories that our audience will pay attention too.

A few weeks ago I invented a new manicotti recipe using two of these main Oklahoma ingredients. Beef and wheat-pasta.I hope you enjoy it! This was made with spinach, but if you try it with something else, let me know! I don’t think you can mess this up! 🙂

For Oklahoma-Style Beef Manicotti you’ll need:

1 box (8 oz) manicotti
2 T. oil
2 tsp. garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 bag (6 0z) fresh spinach
2 c. roast, cooked and chopped (could sub. ground hamburger)
2 eggs
15 oz. ricotta cheese
2 T. basil, dried
1 tsp. salt
1 (16 oz) Italian sauce jar
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
Cheddar Cheese

Boil manicotti for 7 min; drain and rinse in cool water. In a large skillet add oil, garlic and onions saute until onions caramelize, add roast and spinach. Allow to warm through and only slightly cook the spinach. In large mixing bowl add rest of ingredients, plus the meat/spinach mixture except for the cheddar cheese and Italian sauce. Stir well.

Take warm shells and fill with mixture. In baking pan pour 1/2 of the Italian sauce on the bottom of the pan,  lay filled shells and top with the rest of the sauce and cheese. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes covered, and for 5-10 minutes uncovered.

Serve hot with a spinach salad and garlic bread for a yummy easy, at home manicotti using two ingredients that make an daily economical impact on  the ag families and the state of Oklahoma as whole! 🙂

I love hearing from y’all, so if you have any questions or inquiries please leave a comment!

 

Next week is spring break – countin’ down the days! Have an wonderful week,

Amy

 

Cost:

Manicotti pasta: $2.05
Onion: $0.70
Spinach: $3.10
2 c. roast: $3.50
Eggs: $0.30
Cheeses: 3.00
Italian sauce: $1.75
Seasonings: $1.73
Total: $16.13/4 = $4.03 a serving