Specialmanicotti 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.

SPECIAL MANICOTTI

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine the water, tomato paste, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain and set aside. , Place spinach in a steamer basket; place in a saucepan over 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 2-3 minutes or until wilted. Drain on paper towels; finely chop. Add to beef. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, cream, egg, parsley, salt and pepper. Stuff into manicotti shells. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Place manicotti over sauce., For white sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Pour over manicotti. Top with remaining tomato sauce., Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and cook the manicotti until shy of al dente, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and cool to handle.
• For the sauce: Place in a food processor the canned tomatoes, garlic, onion, sugar, basil, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper to taste and the EVOO. Blend until smooth, and then place the sauce in a pot. Stir together with the passata or tomato sauce and simmer 20 minutes.
• Pour half of the sauce into large baking dish.
• For the filling: Mix together in a large bowl the spinach, ricotta, half the Parm, salt and pepper to taste and a little nutmeg. Taste to adjust seasonings before adding the eggs. Once the eggs are incorporated, spoon the filling into a large plastic food storage bag and trim the corner. Pipe the filling into the manicotti and put in the baking dish. Cover the casserole with the remaining sauce, Parm and mozzarella. Cover and store for a make-ahead meal.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and bake until brown and bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes.

MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• If using fresh spinach, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, and season generously with salt. Fill a medium bowl with ice water and season with salt. Boil the spinach until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, (keep the water in the pot boiling), and immediately plunge the spinach into the ice water. Drain and squeeze the excess water from the spinach, and finely chop. Alternatively, if using thawed spinach, simply squeeze, and finely chop. Set aside.
• In the same large pot of boiling water, cook the manicotti shells according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and pat dry.
• Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Lightly beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, and 1/3 cup of the grated cheese and mix until evenly combined. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, the nutmeg and pepper. Spoon the cheese mixture into the manicotti shells and line them up in the baking dish. Cover with the remaining 2 cups sauce. Scatter the remaining 2/3 cup grated cheese on top and dot with the butter.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
• Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and season with pepper to taste. Use right away, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
• Yield: 3 1/2 cups
• Copyright 2001 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved.

SPECIAL MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Remove Italian sausage from casing and crumble well in dutch oven.
• Add ground beef, onions and garlic to sausage and cook over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble meat.
• Remove from fire and drain well.
• Add tomato sauce to dutch oven and the next 11 ingredients.
• Over medium heat bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Cook manicotti shells in salted boiling water according to package directions.
• Drain on paper towels.
• Combine cream cheeses and the next 7 ingredients in a large bowl or mixer.
• Stuff mixture into shells.
• Spoon half the sauce into a lightly greased 14x12 inch baking pan or 2 lightly greased 2 1/2 quart shallow casserole dishes.
• Place stuffed shells over sauce.
• Spoon remaining sauce over shells.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until heated.
• Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place tomatoes in small bowl; cover with 1 cup boiling water. Let stand until softened, about 15 minutes. Dry with paper towel, and cut into 1/4-inch dice; transfer to medium bowl.
• Fill baking dish with very hot water; place manicotti sheets, one at a time, in water. Let stand 10 minutes until softened.
• To tomatoes, add the ricotta, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil, egg yolk, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and mix well to combine. On a clean work surface, place one sheet of manicotti lengthwise. Spoon about 1/3 cup ricotta mixture along front edge; roll to form cylinder. Repeat filling-and-rolling process on all manicotti. Spray 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive-oil spray; spoon about 1/4 cup tomato sauce on bottom.
• Transfer manicotti to the dish in a single layer; cover with remaining 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover with foil; bake 10 minutes. Remove foil; bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 12 to 15 minutes. Garnish with remaining teaspoon parsley.

SUSAN'S MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan, egg, sugar and parsley; season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
• Spread half the marinara in the bottom of a 9-by-13 inch baking dish. Fill each shell with ricotta mixture and arrange in an even layer in dish. Top with remaining 2 cups marinara. Cover with foil and bake until sauce is bubbling and shells are tender, about 40 minutes.
• Sprinkle remaining Parmesan over top, return to oven, and bake until cheese is browned in spots, about 10 minutes.

MEXICAN MANICOTTI

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine 1 1/2 cup cheese and refried beans.
• Stuff uncooked pasta tubes with cheese mixture, pressing firmly into shells.
• Meanwhile, in microwave safe dish, combine water, enchilada sauce and tomato sauce.
• Microwave on HIGH until mixture is steaming hot (about 5-6 minutes).
• Pour about 1/2 the sauce into a 9x13 pan.
• Place uncooked stuffed tubes in pan, turning each to coat with sauce.
• Top with remaining sauce.
• Cover and bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes.
• Then turn shells over.
• Continue baking, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Uncover, top with remaining cheese.
• Bake 4-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
• Dollop with sour cream and sprinkle with onions and olives.

EASY BAKED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Spread 3/4 cup pasta sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
• Mix egg, pesto sauce and cheeses until blended; spoon into resealable plastic bag. Use scissors to cut small corner from bottom of bag.
• Fill manicotti shells by squeezing cheese mixture into both sides of each shell; place in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce; cover.
• Bake 40 min. or until heated through.