When “The Sopranos” ended, I worried about our marriage. Our Sunday night Soprano-and-pasta ritual was so ingrained in the psyche of our relationship, I didn’t know if we’d survive its removal. So you can imagine my relief when “Boardwalk Empire” entered the scene. While it’s no Sopranos, it has all the requisite elements: money, guns, mob activity, hot characters, good clothes, lots of wine. It’ll do.

Since the summer ended and we closed the pool, we’ve been a little bit at a loss for what to do with ourselves on the weekends. Thankfully, about that same time, “Boardwalk Empire” started a new season, and all was not lost. The pasta returned to the forefront of our Sundays.

Mr. Meat and Potatoes is an adherent of the Americanized version of Italian food — it is sloppy, cheesy, sausage-y, and red. Like Mexican food, I believe this kind of Italian food is basically just the same five ingredients in different shapes. And while I have nothing against a saucy, cheesy pasta dish in any shape or form, I grow a little bored of it week after week. I seek, then, to find ways to reinvent the noodle.

Because my husband claims that he fell in love with me over a manicotti dish I made for another man before we were a couple, I occasionally try to whip out the magic dish and remind him that I am, indeed, worth all the trouble. On Sunday, I decided he’d been a good boy and deserved some manicotti, but damn if I was going to stuff those stinking slippery shells after having been all day at the Bert Nash Dash and being a little sunburned and tired. Also, what is up with manicotti? I know my husband loves it, but I think it’s a little dull. That ricotta mixture is just kind of tasteless no matter what you do, if you want my honest opinion. I wanted to jazz it up. I wanted manicotti with a message: NO MORE BORING CHEESE.

I had been thinking for some time that egg roll wrappers were basically just pasta. Thin, beautiful pasta, fresh and lovely. You can buy 15 large egg roll wrappers for a fraction of the cost of buying the “fresh” refrigerated pasta in the grocery store. And it’s a helluva lot faster and easier than making your own. It was time to test my theory.

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I had some leftover ribeye, rare and delicious in the fridge. I hate reheating a steak because it’s going to get overcooked and then what’s the point, so I always try to find a way to use up the leftovers in a different form. Hence, the spinach and steak manicotti in egg roll wrappers was born. What? You say this does not resemble actual manicotti in any way? To you, I say, “open your mind.” It was delicious. Possibly the best “pasta” dish I’ve ever made. I am not kidding. I really really loved it, for lots of reasons.

Because I was tired and it was time to go watch our show, I recruited Mr. Meat and Potatoes to be my sous chef. People, a helper in the kitchen makes everything at least twice as fast, as long as you are willing to give very specific instructions. I loved having him there. Not only did we get dinner on in no time, I got a chance to do a little bossing.

First, we started on some Sunday gravy. I had a little left over from the week before with some sausage in it, so I dumped that into the pot and had Mr. Meat and Potatoes build more sauce atop it. I love using up a leftover.

Once that was simmering, started the oven preheating to 350 degrees, and I chopped up the ribeye into very small pieces. I probably had about 8 ounces of meat. Thankfully, this application doesn’t require a lot of meat. Plus, remember, I had some sausage in my sauce, so my husband wouldn’t feel cheated in the carnivore department.

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Next, I made the cheesy filling:

1 small tub ricotta
1 cup cottage cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons dried basil leaves
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 egg
1/4 cup grated fresh parmesan
1 clove minced garlic
cracked black pepper

Just stir it all together. Easy peasy.

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Now get ready to assemble your manicotti.

8 ounces good steak
handful of spinach leaves
cheese mixture
8 egg roll wrappers
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Have your sous chef (if you are lucky enough to have one) rinse a handful of fresh spinach leaves and pat them dry. Remove the stems and tear the leaves into small pieces. In the meantime, use a fork to beat an egg in a small bowl to use as a sealant for the edges of your egg roll wrappers.

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Next, pour a cup of Sunday gravy into the bottom of a casserole dish, and create an assembly line.

On the top of a wrapper, a little left of center, put 1/4 cup cheese mixture. Then sprinkle on a little steak – about five or six small pieces, and drop on a few torn spinach leaves. Then, using your fingers or a pastry brush, wet the entire perimeter of the wrapper with egg wash.

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Next, pull the left side of the wrapper over the top of the filling. Be careful that you only get one wrapper – they are very thin and it’s easy to pick up two. Smush the edge of the wrapper over the fillings, pushing them back so they don’t ooze out, and then turn it over again, and seal the right edge down. Then just put it in the casserole dish atop the sauce, and repeat.

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I made 7 manicotti tubes. Next, I sprayed them with Pam (I love Pam) and then I drizzled a little more sauce over the top and sprinkled with some fresh basil. You could easily fill these with whatever meat, cheese, or veggie combination you desire. They didn’t take long to make, so I am putting this one in my “dinner party” repertoire. I could whip up twenty or thirty in no time.

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Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve piping hot.

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After dinner, I told my husband, with tears in my eyes, that this might be the best Sunday night dinner I ever made. Seriously. The “pasta” had a perfect “tooth”. Thin, but textural. Not slimy or wet. Crispy on the ends and soft in the center. Today, I am spending some serious time thinking about how else I can use egg roll wrappers in place of traditional pasta. I’m open to suggestions. I feel revolutionary!