Mock Manicotti Food

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.

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.

MOCK MANICOTTI

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the cottage cheese, spinach, cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
• Spread 1/2 cup of cottage cheese mixture over each noodle, roll up jelly-roll style. Place seam side down in an 11 X 7 X 2 inch baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
• Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
• Uncover, drizzle with spaghetti sauce if desired. Bake 10 minutes longer or until heated through.

MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer a large ovenproof baking dish with about 1/4 of the tomato sauce. In a medium bowl mix the ricotta with the egg, salt, and pepper. Spread the ricotta on the Crepe in a straight line, fold edges of crepes over. Place in pan, flap side up. Put a thin slice of mozzarella on each manicotti. Pour tomato sauce over all. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve.
• In a medium bowl whisk eggs and water until smooth. Add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, and stir until smooth. Heat 6-inch skillet on medium heat. Grease skillet lightly. Ladle about 3 tablespoons of batter in skillet and spread it around. Cook until firm, but not brown. Flip crepes out and cool on a paper towel.

CLASSIC MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. First, make the marinara sauce. In a saucepan heat oil. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add tomatoes, pinch of sugar, salt and pepper and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Puree the mixture through the fine disk of a food mill and then return to the saucepan. Reduce for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make your filling. In a bowl mix together ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg yolk, minced basil, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Fill your manicotti tubes with the filling mixture. When all the tubes are filled place them in a baking dish. Spoon marinara sauce over the tubes and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. (Can be refrigerated for several hours or overnight at this point or may be frozen.) When ready to cook, place in the oven and bake, covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until bubbling and heated through. Serve each portion with a sprig of fresh basil.

MC CALL'S COOKING SCHOOL MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Make sauce: In hot oil in a 5 quart Dutch oven, saute onion and garlic 5 minutes.
• Mix in rest of sauce ingredients and 1 1/2 cups water, mashing tomatoes with fork.
• Bring to boiling, and reduce heat.
• Simmer mixture, covered and stirring occasionally, 1 hour.
• Make manicotti: In medium bowl, combine 6 eggs, the flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/2 cups water with electric mixer.
• Beat just until smooth.
• Let stand 1/2 hour or longer.
• Slowly heat an 8" skillet. If you aren't using a skillet with a non-stick surface, brush skillet lightly with butter for each manicotti. Pour in 3 tablespoons batter, rotating the skillet quickly to spread batter evenly over bottom.
• Cook over medium heat until top is dry but bottom is not brown.
• Turn out on a wire rack to cool.
• Continue cooking until all of the batter is used.
• As the manicotti cool, stack them with waxed paper between them.
• Preheat oven to 350.
• Make Filling: In large bowl, combine ricotta, mozarrella, 1/3 cup parmesan, the eggs, salt, pepper, and parsley.
• Beat with wooden spoon to blend well.
• Spread about 1/4 cup filling down the center of each manicotti and roll up.
• Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce into each of two 12x8x2" baking dishes.
• Place 8 rolled manicotti seam side down in single layer. Top with 5 more.
• Cover with 1 cup sauce and sprinkle with parmesan.
• Bake, uncovered, 1/2 hour or until bubbly.

EASY MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Combine Ricotta, Mozzarella, grated Parmesan, sugar, egg, nutmeg, parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
• Stuff uncooked manicotti generously with the cheese mixture, from both ends.
• Arrange manicotti in a single layer in a baking pan.
• Bring sauce to a boil and pour over manicotti, covering completely.
• Cover baking pan with aluminum foil, crimping the edges to seal tightly.
• Bake in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 40 minutes.
• Remove foil; sprinkle generously with additional grated cheese.
• Bake uncovered for 5 minutes more.

THE BEST ITALIAN MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Ina large skillet, brown ground beef, then add garlic and onion, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes and drain.
• Add tomatoes, and the tomato liquid, mushrooms, fennel seed, basil, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, and pepper and stir to mix well.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In a seperate bowl, stir together well drained spinach, half the parmesan, cottage cheese, nutmeg, and pepper.
• In a sprayed 9x13 inch baking dish, spoon 1/3 of the beef sauce evenly over bottom of dish.
• Fill manicotti shells with spinach mixture and place on beef layer in baking dish.
• Repeat until all spinach mixture has been used in manicotti shells.
• Pour remaining beef sauce evenly over manicotti shells to cover.
• Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over top.
• Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until shells are tender.