Classic Manicotti Recipes

MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook manicotti in boiling water until done. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, and 1/2 cup Parmesan, eggs, parsley, and salt and pepper. Mix well.
• Pour 1/2 cup sauce into an 11x17 inch baking dish. Fill each manicotti shell with 3 tablespoons cheese mixture, and arrange over sauce . Pour remaining sauce over top, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Bake 45 minutes, or until bubbly.

BEEF AND CHEESE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat a heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, onion and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the meat browns and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and cool.
• Brush 1 teaspoon of oil over a large baking sheet. Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still very firm to the bite, about 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool.
• Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and parsley. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper to taste, and mix. Stir the cooled meat mixture into the cheese mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Fill the manicotti with the cheese-meat mixture. Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish and spoon the remaining sauce over.
• Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, then the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan over the stuffed pasta. Dot entire dish with the butter pieces. Bake the manicotti uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the sides of the dish, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the manicotti stand 5 minutes and serve.

GRANDMA'S KITCHEN OLD-WORLD MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Cook pasta according to package directions(be sure to not over cook, they need to be a little chewey for easier stuffing). Carefully remove each shell and rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels. Don't get too upset if a couple break, its bound to happen :).
• For the filling, in a large ziplock bag (seriously!), put in 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh basil. Seal the bag tightly. Smush the bag around with your hands until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed (it's a nice stress reliever too!).
• Snip off the bottom corner of the ziplock bag (the point is to have the hole a tad smaller than the manicotti opening, where you can just barely slip it into the shell). Use this method to squeeze the cheese mixture into each manicotti.
• See, that wasn't so bad! ;).
• Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

MEAT FILLED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and cool. Reserve.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet brown beef on medium heat. Drain and cool.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine beef, cottage cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg whites and oregano. Mix well. Stuff shells with mixture.
• Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour enough spaghetti sauce in dish to cover the bottom. Place stuffed noodles in the dish. Cover with spaghetti sauce and top with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes.

STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Par-boil manicotti noodles, drain.
• Place in a bowl of cold water to prevent sticking.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine eggs, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, 1/2 of the mozzarella,cheddar and ricotta cheeses and the seasonings.
• Drain shells, pat dry with paper towels.
• Fill shells with cheese mixture, spread 1/2 cup of the prepared spaghetti sauce over bottom of shallow 3 quart baking dish.
• Arrange filled shells over sauce; cover with remaining sauce and spoon remaining ricotta over each shell.
• Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan cheeses.
• Bake covered loosely with foil for 40 minutes.

BAKED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add manicotti and cook, according to package directions, until al dente. Drain, reserving pasta cooking water; rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside.
• Bring pasta cooking water to a boil and add spinach; cook until just wilted. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Squeeze out excess water from spinach and finely chop.
• Transfer spinach to a large bowl along with ricotta, half of the Parmesan, egg yolks, and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Stuff spinach mixture into manicotti and set aside.
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and stir until well combined. Gradually stir in milk; continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and thickened.
• Evenly spread tomato sauce on the bottom of a small rectangular baking dish. Top with an even layer of stuffed manicotti. Pour butter mixture over manicotti and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Transfer to oven and bake until top is browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand 10 to 20 minutes before serving with additional Parmesan cheese.

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°.