Not for the lactose intolerant

Here is something that looks pretty impressive but is very easy to do -- I'm always a fan of recipes like that. We had it for dinner on Sunday this week as I knew I'd be doing a big grillfest for Memorial Day. But what with all the birthday brouhaha it took me this long to get it on the blog. Fabulous with a big green salad full of crisp May cucumbers and orange bell peppers and tomatoes. Mmmm.

Cheese-stuffed Canneloni
1 lb canneloni pasta, uncooked

1 1/2 c ricotta
1 1/2 c shredded mozzarella
1/2 c grated parmesan
1 egg
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dry basil
pinch black pepper

2-3 c marinara sauce (a low salt variety can be good because it cooks down quite a bit and can get very salty tasting. If you have homemade sauce in a jar then I kneel at your feet. I used Ragu this week since we got a whole bunch of it from some friends who moved to Texas.)

Heat oven to 350. Reserve 1/2 c mozzarella, then mix all remaining cheeses with egg, garlic, basil and pepper.

Pour 1/2 c sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spread evenly.

Use a pastry bag with no tip to pipe cheese mixture into dry canneloni. (Is it just weird that I think this is really fun?) Arrange in rows in the pan where you put the sauce. Pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle reserved cheese over that.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

I have been thinking that if someone made dry, pre-shaped enchilada shells that would soften as they bake in sauce like these canneloni do, I would make enchiladas a lot more often. Any foodie entrepreneurs out there?