Three-Cheese Manicotti

I have tried several different manicotti recipes over the years and have always had some issue with each one. I made this recipe the other night for dinner and really enjoyed it. It has become my favorite manicotti recipe. The big difference is the sauce. Every other recipe I have tried called for canned spaghetti sauce, but making the sauce yourself makes the difference. Although I didn't freeze this recipe, I'm sure it would freeze fine.

Three-Cheese Manicotti
from The Food Nanny by Lix Edmunds
(By the way I really do love this cookbook. It's not a freezer cooking book, but all her recipes are relative simple and many of them can be frozen.)

Sauce:
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
¼ cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 TB olive oil
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp oregano
¼ tsp dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
¼ tsp salt

12 uncooked manicotti shells

Filling:
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ tsp salt
Pinch black ground pepper

Cook onion & garlic in oil on medium until onions are tender but not browned. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, oregano, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Decrease heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring often. Add water if needed. Remove bay leaf.

Cook pasta according to package while sauce is cooking. Rinse in cold water and drain.

Preheat oven to 350.

In medium bowl combine ingredients for filling (reserve 1 cup mozzarella). Spoon filling into a gallon size Ziploc bag, seal and cut off a small corner. Stuff manicotti shells by piping the filling in each end. Do not overstuff.

Pour half of sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Arrange stuffed pasta shells over sauce and top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with reserved mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.