Homemade Manicotti For Christmas Dinner Recipes

HOMEMADE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Place flour in a bowl; whisk in milk, eggs and salt until smooth. Heat a lightly greased 8-in. skillet; pour about 2 tablespoons batter into center of skillet. Spread into a 5-in. circle. Cook over medium heat until set; do not brown or turn. Repeat with remaining batter, making 18 crepes. Stack crepes with waxed paper in between; set aside. , For filling, combine cheeses, egg and parsley. Spoon 3-4 tablespoons down the center of each crepe; roll up. Pour half of the spaghetti sauce into an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Place crepes, seam side down, over sauce; pour remaining sauce over top. , Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 20 minutes longer or until heated through. Sprinkle with Romano cheese if desired.

CHRISTMAS EVE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Whisk 4 eggs and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a bowl; gradually whisk flour into eggs, alternating with milk, to make a smooth batter. Whisk melted butter into batter; refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Pour vegetable oil into a small bowl. Heat a small skillet over medium heat; brush skillet with vegetable oil using a pastry brush. Ladle in enough batter to lightly cover the bottom of the skillet, about 1/4 cup; swirl skillet to cover bottom completely. Cook crepe until it turns lightly golden brown on the bottom; flip and cook until other side has small brown spots. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing the skillet with oil as needed to prevent crepes from sticking; set cooked crepes aside between layers of waxed paper.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Lightly mix spinach, ricotta cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, green onion, onion powder, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 eggs in a bowl until filling is thoroughly combined.
• Spread 1 cup marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Place a crepe onto a work surface and spoon about 3 tablespoons filling, or more as needed, in a line down the center of each crepe. Roll crepe over filling and set into sauce in pan; repeat with remaining crepes and filling, laying filled crepes into pan. Spread remaining marinara sauce over filled crepes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling and mozzarella cheese is melted and slightly browned, 20 to 30 minutes.

HOMEMADE CREPE-STYLE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• For the sauce: Combine the canned tomatoes in a large bowl, reserving the cans. Crush the tomatoes with your hands. Put the olive oil and garlic in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the garlic is translucent and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until warm, about 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes. Fill each reserved can halfway with water, swish to collect any remaining tomato juice and add to the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 35 minutes. Stir in the whole basil sprigs, season with salt and black pepper and remove from the heat. You should have about 6 cups of sauce.
• For the crepes: Puree the eggs, flour, milk, water and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender until smooth. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Heat an 8-inch stainless steel skillet over medium-low heat (see Cook's Note). Pour 1/4 cup of the batter off center into the pan with a ladle or measuring cup, then swirl to coat the bottom. Cook until the crepe looks dry and pulls away from the sides of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes per side. The crepes should not take on any color. (It usually takes one or two tries to get it right so adjust the heat as needed.) Transfer the crepe to a plate. Continue cooking the crepes with the remaining batter, stacking them on the plate when they are done. You should have about 16 good crepes. At this point the crepes can be wrapped tightly and stored on the plate in the refrigerator up to 1 day.
• For the filling: Combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmigiano, Pecorino, parsley, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper.
• To assemble, preheat the oven to 375F. Cover the bottom of each of two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes with 1 1/2 cups sauce (it is fine to also add the basil sprigs to the bottom of the dish if you like). Divide the filling among the crepes (about 1/4 cup each) and spread it in a line down the center of each crepe. Roll the crepes into cylinders (leaving the ends open) and fit them snugly in the baking dishes, seam-side down. Spoon 1 cup of the sauce in a line down the center of each baking dish (it will only partially cover the crepes). The manicotti can be assembled up to this point, covered tightly and refrigerated overnight; remove the covering before baking.
• Cover the baking dishes with lids or aluminum foil and bake until the filling is heated through and the sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the cover, sprinkle with some Parmigiano and continue to bake until the cheese is melted and the edges are light brown, 5 to 10 minutes more. Heat the remaining sauce in a small saucepan or the microwave and serve alongside the manicotti.

HOMEMADE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In bowl combine Ricotta, eggs and half of the Parmesan cheese. Drain spinach and squeeze out remaining water. Add to cheese mixture. Stir to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Take a crepe and top with 3 or 4 tablespoons of cheese and spinach mixture. Roll up. Fill and roll up remaining crepes. In a baking dish spread sauce evenly along bottom. Place stuffed crepes in baking dish. Top with more sauce and Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly. Serve.

HOMEMADE MANICOTTI (FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER)

Steps:

• Manicotti Shells Use a ladle to spoon batter onto skillet making thin crepes. Flip when small bubbles begin to appear. *Before pouring batter onto skillet use a piece of wax paper and rub it on skillet to prevent sticking. Manicotti Filling Mix all ingredients (except sauce) together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Using a spoon, put a spoonful of filling in the middle of each crepe. Roll the shell up and place in a 13x9 pan lined with sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until hot or Refrigerate until ready to use.

HOMEMADE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE CREPES --.
• Whisk all the manicotti crepe ingredients together to make a smooth, but very liquidity batter. Should be the consistency of a creamy soup.
• Heat a 8" non stick skillet on med/high heat. When hot pour 1/4 cup of the crepe batter into the skillet and tilt skillet to spread batter evenly on bottom of entire skillet. See photo.
• Cook til the crepe starts to look dry and til the edges start to pull away from the skillet. this should take about 1 minute. Then with a spatula, gently flip the crepe. Cook the other side for about 20 seconds.
• Remove from skillet and repeat process til all the crepes are done. Stack them as you would pancakes. See photo.
• TO MAKE THE FILLING --.
• Mix together the ricotta, grated romano or parmesan, parsley and half the mozzarella.
• Fill each crepe with 3 tablespoons full of filling, by placing the filling in the center of the crepe.
• Then fold each side of the crepe over the filling, overlapping the crepe slightly. See photo.
• Place seam side down on a large baking dish or aluminum foil tray. Placing them right next to each other.
• Pour about 1/4 cup of tomato sauce over each manicotti. Then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or till cheese has melted and manicotti are heat through.
• Serve warm with extra grated romano or parmesan cheese on top, if desired.

HOMEMADE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• For Crepe Noodles: Place flour in a bowl; whisk in milk, 2 eggs and salt until smooth.
• Pour about 2 TBL onto a hot greased 8-in. skillet; spread to a 5-in. circle. Cook over medium heat until set; do not brown or turn. Repeat with remaining batter, making 18 crepes.
• Stack crepes between waxed paper; set aside.
• For Filling: combine cheeses, 1 egg, parsley and browned meat (opt).
• Spoon 3-4 tablespoons down the center of each crepe; roll up.
• Pour half of the spaghetti sauce into an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking dish.
• Place crepes seam side down, over the sauce; pour remaining sauce of the top.
• Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
• Uncover and bake 20 minutes longer or until heated through.
• Sprinkle with Romano cheese.

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°.