5 Cheese Stuffed Manicotti

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

For the pasta and sauce:
Combine tomatoes, olive oil, salt, and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in dried basil. Set aside.

Cook pasta tubes or shells according to the package directions for al dente or just slightly undercooked. Drain from pasta water and lay on paper towels to slightly dry.

For the cheese filling:
Combine cheeses, egg, salt, and garlic until well mixed and spoon into a large Ziploc bag. Squeeze mixture into one corner of the bag and snip off the end.

Spoon about a cup of sauce over the bottom of a large baking dish. Working one at a time, squeeze a steady stream of cheese into each pasta tube until the sides expand a bit. Place each filled shell into the baking dish and spoon remaining tomato sauce over the filled pasta once all the cheese mixture is used. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the filled pasta and cover with foil.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly, removing foil for last 10 minutes of cooking to help brown the cheese.