Farmhouse Manicotti With Optional Meat Sauce Food

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.

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.

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.

BEEF STUFFED MANICOTTI WITH BASIL TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the water, tomato paste, onion, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil, garlic, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. , Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup Romano cheese, eggs and remaining parsley, salt and pepper. Stuff into manicotti shells. , Pour half of the meat sauce into a greased 11x7-in. baking dish. Arrange shells over sauce. Top with sauce; sprinkle with remaining Romano cheese. Bake, uncovered, until heated through, 30-35 minutes.

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!

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°.

CHEESE STUFFED MANICOTTI IN MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Preaheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil; add salt if desired. Place noodles in water and boil for 9 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water to prevent sticking.
• While noodles are boiling, brown meat in a large skillet. Drain and add spaghetti sauce; set simmer for 5 minutes, then turn off heat.
• In a bowl, combine eggs, 1 cup mozzarella, half of the ricotta, parmesan and seasonings.
• Pour a layer of meat sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, using half of what you have.
• Using a spoon or piping bag, fill the noodles with the cheese mixture and place on top of sauce. Spread remaining ricotta on top and layer with remaining sauce and mozzarella. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes.