Beefy Manicotti Food

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.

BEEF AND MUSHROOM MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta shells as directed on package, using minimum cook time. Rinse with cold water to cool; drain.
• Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, cook beef, 1 cup onion and the garlic over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain, if desired. Stir in basil, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper; cook 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.
• In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook mushrooms and 1/2 cup onion in oil, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook about 10 minutes, breaking up tomatoes, until sauce is thoroughly heated.
• In large bowl, mix beef mixture, ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese. Spoon mixture into pasta shells. Place in baking dish. Pour sauce over stuffed shells. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
• Cover; bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly.

MANICOTTI ALLA ROMANA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent. Saute garlic for 1 minute and stir in ground beef. Cook until well browned and crumbled. Season with salt and set aside to cool.
• Cook spinach according to package directions. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add manicotti shells and parboil for half of the time recommended on the package. Drain and cover with cool water to stop the cooking process and prevent the shells from cracking.
• To the ground beef mixture add the cooked spinach and ricotta cheese. When the mixture is cool, add the beaten eggs. Spread 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Gently drain the manicotti shells and carefully stuff each one with the meat and cheese mixture; place shells in prepared dish. Lightly cover the dish with plastic wrap or a clean, damp towel to prevent shells from cracking.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Prepare the white sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and chicken bouillon. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until it begins to bubble. Stir in half and half and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Pour or ladle the sauce evenly over the stuffed shells.
• Stir the basil into the remaining spaghetti sauce. Carefully pour or ladle spaghetti sauce over the white sauce, trying to layer the sauces without mixing.
• Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes more.

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.

BEEF & CHEESE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still firm if eaten. Be careful not to let them get too soft or it makes stuffing them very difficult.
• Heat a large pan over medium heat.
• Saute the ground beef and onion in olive oil.
• Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Brush a small amount of oil over a large baking sheet and Place the firmly cooked manicotti on it to cool.
• Meanwhile combine the ricotta, 1 1/2-2 cups of mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan.
• Add the minced garlic, salt & pepper to taste, and mix.
• Stir the cooled meat mixture with the cheese mixture.
• Brush another small amount of oil over a 13 by 9 glass baking dish.
• Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the spaghetti sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish.
• Fill the manicotti with the cheese and meat mixture, being careful not to break the noodles.
• Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the dish and spoon the remaining sauce over the manicotti.
• Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella and the parmesan cheese over the pasta.
• Place the small butter pieces all over the dish.
• Bake the stuffed manicotti uncovered until heated through. The sauce will bubble on the sides of the dish, takes around 35 minutes.
• Let the manicotti stand for about 5 minutes.
• Serve.

BEEF-STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Brown ground beef & drain.
• Cook manicotti using package directions.
• Do not drain. Run cold water over it until water in pan is cold; leave manicotti in water until needed.
• Meanwhile, combine ground beef, egg, mozzarella, bread, milk, salt & pepper. Stuff each manicotti shell. Place in greased 13x9x2" baking pan. Pour spaghetti sauce over top, cover with foil & bake in 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. (1 hour if made ahead & chilled.).
• Pass grated parmesan cheese when serving.

BEEF STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook manicotti according to package directions; drain. In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, oregano and thyme; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup cheese; stir until melted., Stuff half meat mixture into manicotti shells; arrange in a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Spoon remaining meat mixture over shells. , Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through and cheese is melted.

BEEFY MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Crumble ground beef in skillet and brown gradually over medium heat. Drain and add to 1 jar of spaghetti sauce and set aside.
• Place manicotti noodles in large stockpot of boiling water. Boil until tender and remove from hot water and gently place into cold water until firm. Dry noodles on paper towel. Combine ricotta, 4 cups of mozzarella and basil in large bowl.
• Add 2 cups of spaghetti sauce to the bottom of 9x12 baking dish. To make filling shells easier, just split up the side, fill with cheese mixture, close and lay split side on bottom of pan. Continue until all shells are filled. Top with spaghetti sauce with ground beef until all shells are thoroughly covered. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
• Place in preheated 350 degrees F oven for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with 2 cups Kraft Shredded Mozzarella Cheese and return to oven. Bake for 15 minutes more, or until mozzarella is nicely golden brown.

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°.

CHEESY GROUND BEEF MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook and drain manicotti as directed on package using minimum cooking time (cooking for the minimum time helps prevent the shells from tearing while filling).
• Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in pasta sauce.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• Squeeze thawed spinach to drain; spread on paper towels and pat dry. In medium bowl, mix spinach, cottage cheese, mushrooms, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, the nutmeg and pepper.
• In baking dish, spread 1 cup of the beef mixture. Fill manicotti shells with spinach mixture. Place shells on beef mixture in dish. Pour remaining beef mixture evenly over shells, covering shells completely. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
• Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly.