Cheesy Pesto Manicotti Food

EASY STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add manicotti and boil for the 7-8 minutes, until almost tender*.
• Drain and rinse manicotti 2-3 times under cold water until cooled to room temperature.
• In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, egg, pesto, salt, and pepper.
• Place ricotta mixture in a large piping bag or large freezer bag and snip the end.
• Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish and spread 1 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom.
• Fill each manicotti shell with ricotta cheese mixture and line up on top of the marinara sauce in the baking dish, dividing the ricotta evenly between the 12 manicotti.
• Top the filled manicotti with the remaining 1 1/2 cups sauce, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly grease a piece of foil or lid and cover the baking dish. Bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes until heated through and pasta is tender. Serve.

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.

CHEESY VEGETABLE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• For the filling: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the zucchini and yellow squash, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the squash softens but is not mushy, about 4 minutes. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and let cool.
• Add the ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the cooled vegetables. Stir to combine.
• For the tomato sauce: In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes with their juices until they are coarsely ground or chop the tomatoes by hand. Transfer them to a bowl, add the salt and pepper, then stir in the basil.
• For the manicotti: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with oil or cooking spray.
• Transfer the filling mixture to a large resealable plastic bag. Snip a large hole out of one corner of the bag with scissors and use the bag to pipe the mixture into the cooked manicotti shells.
• Spread about 1 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Place the manicotti shells into the baking dish. Spread the remaining sauce over the manicotti. Top with the mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

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.

CHEESE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients; stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. In another bowl, mix marinara sauce and water; spread 3/4 cup sauce onto bottom of a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Fill uncooked manicotti shells with ricotta mixture; arrange over sauce. Top with remaining sauce., Bake, covered, 50 minutes or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. If desired, top with additional parsley.

MANICOTTI WITH CHEESE

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 on waxed paper or aluminum foil to prevent the noodles from sticking together.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper; fill manicotti with cheese mixture.
• In a 9x13 inch baking dish, spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom and arrange manicotti in a single layer; cover with remaining sauce. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15 minutes longer; serve.

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.

SPINACH PESTO MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cook manicotti to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain; rinse with cold water to cool. Drain well.
• Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine ground beef, spinach, cheese, pesto and egg. If desired, add salt and pepper; mix well. For easier stuffing, place beef mixture in resealable freezer plastic bag; seal bag. Cut about 1-inch hole in bottom corner of bag.
• Fill each manicotti by squeezing beef mixture into manicotti; place in sprayed baking dish. Pour pasta sauce over manicotti. Cover with foil.
• Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until filling is no longer pink in center.

PESTO MANICOTTI (NO TOMATOES)

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a small amount of olive oil.
• Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil. Add the manicotti and cook al dente. Drain and arrange them on a tea towel so they don't touch. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, remove the excess water from the spinach by placing the leaves in a salad spinner. Continue spinning until no more water runs out.
• Coarsely chop the spinach.
• In a large bowl, combine the spinach, eggs, ricotta, mozzarella, Greek yogurt, garlic and oregano. Transfer the cheese mixture to a Zip-Lock-type plastic bag, squeeze out the air and seal. Set aside.
• Spread half of the pesto in an even layer over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Snip off one corner of the bag of cheese mixture. Holding a manicotti tube in one hand and the bag in the other, insert the tip of the bag into the pasta tube and squeeze gently to fill it. Tip: to make filling easier, fill from both ends.
• Arrange each filled tube in a single layer in the prepared baking dish.
• When all the tubes are filled, spoon the remaining pesto over them. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
• Uncover the pan and sprinkle the manicotti with Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, for another 15 minutes, or until the Parmesan is melted and lightly browned.