Farmhouse Manicotti With Optional Meat Sauce Recipes

BAKED MANICOTTI WITH MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Make filling by mixing first 8ingredients and 1 cup parmesan cheese.
• Blend thoroughly.
• Cook meat with garlic and onions
• Sprinkle with salt and drain grease.
• Stuff cooked noodles (gently) with filling.
• Butter 12x15 baking dish.
• Spoon tomato sauce in bottom of dish to cover.
• Place stuffed shells in dish to completely fill.
• Sprinkle meat over and around shells.
• Spoon tomato sauce over shells generously.
• Sprinke with 1/2 cup parmesan.
• Cover with foil.
• Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.

BAKED MANICOTTI WITH PEPPERONI MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
• MEAT Pulse the pepperoni in a food processor until ground. Add (the already ground) beef and pulse until thoroughly combined. (This will blend the flavors better and also prep the beef so it's more tender rather than 'stringy out of the package when cooked).
• Transfer beef mixture to large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, and spices and cook over medium heat, breaking up mixture with wooden spoon, until beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer 1 cup beef mixture to paper towel-lined plate and reserve.
• SAUCE: Add spaghetti sauce to the meat in the saucepan and simmer until heated through (about 10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Begin making noodles and filling while sauce is simmering.
• NOODLES Pour 2 quarts very hot tap water into 13x9 inch baking dish. Place noodles into the water ONE AT A TIME (so as not to stick to each other). Soak noodles until pliable, about 8-10 minutes.
• FILLING In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients and the reserved meat. Mix well.
• ASSEMBLY Drain noodles on place them in a single layer onto kitchen or paper towels. Pour off water and dry baking dish. Spread half of meat sauce over bottom of baking dish.
• With the short side of the noodles facing you, spread 1/4 cup of the filling filling across the bottom of each and roll into a tube. Arrange the rolled manicotti, seam-side down, over the sauce in the baking dish. Spread remaining sauce over top. Cover with foil and bake until bubbling around edges, about 40 minutes.
• Remove foil and sprinkle with the grated parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered 5 more minutes. ***IMPORTANT*** Let cool 15 minutes.before serving so the cheese 'sets' and is not gooey.

MEATY MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook manicotti shells according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage and beef over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Remove from the heat. Cool for 10 minutes., Drain shells and rinse in cold water. Stir the mozzarella cheese, cream cheese and salt into meat mixture. Spread 2 cups spaghetti sauce in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. , Stuff each shell with about 1/4 cup meat mixture; arrange over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. , Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly and heated through. Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked casserole. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake casserole as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

THE BEST ITALIAN MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Ina large skillet, brown ground beef, then add garlic and onion, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes and drain.
• Add tomatoes, and the tomato liquid, mushrooms, fennel seed, basil, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, and pepper and stir to mix well.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In a seperate bowl, stir together well drained spinach, half the parmesan, cottage cheese, nutmeg, and pepper.
• In a sprayed 9x13 inch baking dish, spoon 1/3 of the beef sauce evenly over bottom of dish.
• Fill manicotti shells with spinach mixture and place on beef layer in baking dish.
• Repeat until all spinach mixture has been used in manicotti shells.
• Pour remaining beef sauce evenly over manicotti shells to cover.
• Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over top.
• Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until shells are tender.

MC CALL'S COOKING SCHOOL MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Make sauce: In hot oil in a 5 quart Dutch oven, saute onion and garlic 5 minutes.
• Mix in rest of sauce ingredients and 1 1/2 cups water, mashing tomatoes with fork.
• Bring to boiling, and reduce heat.
• Simmer mixture, covered and stirring occasionally, 1 hour.
• Make manicotti: In medium bowl, combine 6 eggs, the flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/2 cups water with electric mixer.
• Beat just until smooth.
• Let stand 1/2 hour or longer.
• Slowly heat an 8" skillet. If you aren't using a skillet with a non-stick surface, brush skillet lightly with butter for each manicotti. Pour in 3 tablespoons batter, rotating the skillet quickly to spread batter evenly over bottom.
• Cook over medium heat until top is dry but bottom is not brown.
• Turn out on a wire rack to cool.
• Continue cooking until all of the batter is used.
• As the manicotti cool, stack them with waxed paper between them.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Make Filling: In large bowl, combine ricotta, mozarrella, 1/3 cup parmesan, the eggs, salt, pepper, and parsley.
• Beat with wooden spoon to blend well.
• Spread about 1/4 cup filling down the center of each manicotti and roll up.
• Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce into each of two 12x8x2" baking dishes.
• Place 8 rolled manicotti seam side down in single layer. Top with 5 more.
• Cover with 1 cup sauce and sprinkle with parmesan.
• Bake, uncovered, 1/2 hour or until bubbly.

FARMHOUSE MANICOTTI WITH OPTIONAL MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook, rinse & drain manicotti as per package directions.
• While that is cooking, brown the meat in a medium frying pan; rinse & drain for low-fat applications!
• Preheat oven to 350; grease 13x9 pan; set aside.
• Mix meat and spaghetti sauce; spoon 3 cups of sauce into bottom of greased pan; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine THREE cups mozzarella with ricotta and basil.
• Spoon mixture into a ziplock bag, cut off one corner, squeeze into pasta shells; lay finished shells into sauce in pan.
• After all shells have been filled and nestled cutely together, pour remaining sauce over shells.
• Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake for 15 minutes; sprinkle with parmesan; bake for 10 more minutes.
• Serve immediately. Yum!