Cheesy Sausage Tomato Manicotti Recipes

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.

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 SAUSAGE AND TOMATO MANICOTTI (OAMC)

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse with cold water. Drain.
• Process tomato sauce and diced tomatoes in a blender 20 seconds or until smooth. Set aside.
• Remove casings from sausage, and discard. Cook sausage in large skillet over medium high heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Stir in cream cheese, ricotta cheese, and 2 cups mozzarella cheese. Spoon into manicotti shells; arrange stuffed shells in lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
• Pour tomato mixture over shells; sprinkle with remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350manicotti for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let casserole stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle top with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
• *********** OAMC Directions **********.
• Casserole may be assembled and frozen up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight; bake, covered, at 350manicotti for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. If you prefer a smaller casserole, use 2 (11 in x 7 inch) baking dishes. Proceed as directed.

CHEESY SAUSAGE & TOMATO MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse with cold water. Drain and set aside.
• Process tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and green chilies in a blender 20 seconds or until smooth. Set aside.
• Remove casings from sausage, and discard. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain sausage, if desired, and return to skillet. Stir in cream cheese, ricotta cheese, and 2 cups mozzarella cheese. Spoon into manicotti shells; arrange stuffed manicotti in a lightly greased 13x9 inch-baking dish.
• Pour tomato mixture over shells; sprinkle with remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let casserole stand 10 minutes before serving, Sprinkle top with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
• Note: Casserole may be assembled and frozen up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator overnight; bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Ground beef and tomato manicotti: Substitute 1 pound lean ground beef for sausage. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, 1-teaspoon salt, 1-teaspoon pepper, and 1-teaspoon fennel seed. Proceed as directed.

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• For ragù and filling:
• Pierce each sausage several times with tip of knife. Place sausages in heavy large saucepan; add onion. Cover; cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes. Turn sausages over; stir onion. Cover and continue to cook until sausages release some fat and onion begins to color, about 5 minutes. Uncover; increase heat to medium. Add wine and simmer until wine evaporates and onion is golden, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Fit food mill directly onto pan. Add tomatoes with juices and puree through mill into pan, leaving only seeds behind and scraping all tomato pulp from underside of food mill into pan; or puree tomatoes with juices in processor, then strain out seeds and add puree to pan. Add crushed red pepper. Simmer very gently over low heat until sauce thickens and reduces to scant 2 cups, stirring sauce and turning sausages occasionally, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Add slivered basil and simmer sauce 5 minutes longer. Using tongs, transfer sausages to plate and cool. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
• Place ricotta in medium bowl. Mix in provolone cubes, 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, and black pepper. Cut sausages into 1/4-inch cubes; stir into cheese mixture. Season filling to taste with salt. (Sauce and filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill.)
• For assembly:
• Cook manicotti in large pot of boiling salted water until still somewhat firm to bite and about 3/4 cooked, about 7 minutes (depending on brand). Using tongs, carefully transfer manicotti from pot to foil-lined baking sheet and cool.
• Brush olive oil over bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish; spread 3 tablespoons sauce over. Using teaspoon, fill each of 12 manicotti with about 1/3 cup cheese-sausage mixture. Arrange stuffed pasta in single layer in prepared dish and spoon remaining sauce over. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand at room temperature.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan atop sauce. Bake manicotti uncovered until heated through and sauce is bubbling on bottom of dish, about 20 minutes. Let manicotti stand 5 minutes and serve.