Stuffed Pasta Manicotti With Italian Sausage Food

ITALIAN SAUSAGE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Cook and crumble Italian sausage in a large nonstick pan. Once you have it broken apart, add the onion. Cook until the sausage is no longer pink.
• Add garlic, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute.
• Turn heat to low and add cream cheese. Stir until melted. Remove from heat.
• Let cool slightly and then stir in 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, and pepper.
• Stuff the mixture into the manicotti shells. You can either use a spoon or fork to push it in or you can transfer the mixture ot a large ziptop bag and snip the corner and pipe it in.
• Pour about 1/2 cup of sauce in the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly. Place the filled manicotti tubes on top of the sauce.Pour remaining sauce on top of manicotti.
• Cover and bake for 25 minutes.
• Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook shells in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until tender yet firm to the bite, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet; place drained pasta on baking sheet to cool.
• Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a heavy skillet. Cook and crumble sausage until it has lost its pink color and begins to brown. Remove from heat; drain off grease.
• Stir half of the shredded cheese and the Italian seasoning into the browned sausage. Spoon mixture into the pasta shells (1 to 2 tablespoons per shell). Arrange stuffed shells in prepared baking dish. Pour marinara sauce evenly over the shells. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Bake in preheated oven until heated through and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake until browned, 5 to 10 more minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of Italian seasoning, if desired.

SHORTCUT SAUSAGE-STUFFED MANICOTTI WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1 cup of the pasta sauce in dish. To remaining sauce in jar, add water and mix well.
• Cut sausage links in half lengthwise; remove casings. Shape each piece of sausage into roll; stuff into uncooked pasta shell. Place stuffed shells on sauce in dish. Pour remaining pasta sauce mixture over shells.
• Cover tightly with foil; bake 1 hour 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses; bake uncovered 10 minutes longer or until cheeses are melted and pasta is tender. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

SAUSAGE-STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Boil manicotti noodles 8 minutes and drain; set aside.
• Meanwhile make the filling by combining sausage, 1 cup mozzarella, 1 cup provolone, breadcrumbs and eggs.
• Pour 3/4 cup sauce into a greased 9x13 baking dish and spread so it covers the whole bottom of the dish.
• Stuff manicotti with the filling.
• Arrange the filled manicotti in the baking dish in a single layer (you may need an additional 8 inch square baking dish for all of the manicotti or use a large lasagna baking dish, if you prefer. Sometimes I freeze the remaining stuffed manicotti shells to use for another meal or snack).
• Top the manicotti with the remaining spaghetti sauce.
• Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes.
• Uncover and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella, provolone and parmesan cheese.
• Bake for another 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Enjoy.

STUFFED PASTA MANICOTTI WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Cook manicotti as directed on package, omitting salt. Meanwhile, brown crumbled sausage in large skillet; drain. Remove from heat. Stir in reduced-fat cream cheese, ricotta, milk, Italian seasoning, parsley and 2 Tbsp. Parmesan.
• Drain manicotti; stuff with sausage mixture. Spread 1 cup pasta sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with manicotti and remaining sauce.
• Bake 30 min. or until heated through, topping with mozzarella and remaining Parmesan for the last 5 min.

MANICOTTI WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepot over medium heat. Cook the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces, until browned and caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve for the filling.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot and cook the onion until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute (the tomato paste will turn a deep maroon color). Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, bay leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of black pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. Melt the butter into the sauce, remove the bay leaves and stir in 1/3 cup of basil. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature, 40 minutes.
• For the filling: mix together the ricotta, reserved sausage, the remaining 1/3 cup basil, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 1 1/2 cups Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Fold in 1 cup of the cooled tomato sauce. Place the filling in a large piping bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the manicotti shells until they have softened slightly but still hold their tubular shape, 5 minutes.
• Pour half of the tomato sauce into a broiler-proof 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Fill each shell with the ricotta mixture. Place the filled shells in the baking dish. Pipe any extra filling along the ends of the shells in the dish. Top with the remaining tomato sauce and sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1 cup Parmesan over the top. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake until the sauce begins to bubble, 40 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven, remove the foil and increase the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the manicotti back into the oven to bake until the cheese is browned and bubbling, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

SAUSAGE BROCCOLI MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook manicotti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, broccoli, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, egg, parsley, onion powder, pepper and garlic powder; set aside. , In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add spaghetti sauce and garlic. Spread 1 cup meat sauce in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. , Rinse and drain shells; stuff with broccoli mixture. Arrange over sauce. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40-50 minutes or until heated through.

SAUSAGE-STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion and bell pepper to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender.
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Return pan to heat; bring to a boil. Cook 6 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat; stir in black pepper. Add 1/2 cup milk mixture to sausage mixture; stir well.
• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Spoon about 1/3 cup sausage mixture into each manicotti; arrange manicotti in a single layer in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle mozzarella over manicotti; spread remaining milk mixture evenly over mozzarella. Top milk mixture with pasta sauce, spreading to cover. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until bubbly.

LASAGNA-STUFFED MANICOTTI SHELLS

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in manicotti and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and place on a baking sheet to cool. Place in freezer until hardened, about 5 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage, beef, and onion; saute 3 minutes. Add basil, rosemary, thyme, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Cook until meat is browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in 1/2 can tomato sauce and cook until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool.
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat for the sauce. Add onion and saute 1 minute. Add remaining tomato sauce, rosemary, and thyme. Stir in basil and red pepper flakes.
• Fold mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese into the cooled meat mixture. Stuff each manicotti shell with meat mixture and place back onto the baking sheet. Place filled shells in the freezer to firm up, about 5 minutes. Slice shells into bite-sized pieces.
• Heat 2 quarts vegetable oil in a saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place flour, bread crumbs, and beaten eggs each in a separate bowl. Dredge manicotti slices in flour, then eggs, and then bread crumbs and place on the baking sheet.
• Fry slices in the hot oil until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve with the spicy tomato dipping sauce.

MANICOTTI WITH SPICY SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside. In the same skillet, bring tomatoes and marinara sauce to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. , In a large bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, chilies, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder and pepper., Divide 2 cups of sauce between two greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dishes. Stuff uncooked manicotti shells with cheese mixture. Place in prepared pans. Sprinkle with sausage; top with remaining sauce. , Cover and bake at 375° for 50 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and manicotti is tender. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.