Mamas Manicotti Recipes

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.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Cook pasta according to package directions(be sure to not over cook, they need to be a little chewey for easier stuffing). Carefully remove each shell and rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels. Don't get too upset if a couple break, its bound to happen :).
• For the filling, in a large ziplock bag (seriously!), put in 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh basil. Seal the bag tightly. Smush the bag around with your hands until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed (it's a nice stress reliever too!).
• Snip off the bottom corner of the ziplock bag (the point is to have the hole a tad smaller than the manicotti opening, where you can just barely slip it into the shell). Use this method to squeeze the cheese mixture into each manicotti.
• See, that wasn't so bad! ;).
• Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Make sauce:
• Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, water, sugar, and salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in basil and remove from heat.
• Make crêpes:
• Break up eggs with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl and stir in water until combined (don't beat). Sift in flour and salt, then stir batter until just combined. Force through a medium-mesh sieve into another bowl.
• Lightly brush an 8-inch nonstick skillet with melted butter and heat over moderate heat until hot. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter into skillet, tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom, then pour excess batter back into bowl. (If batter sets before skillet is coated, reduce heat slightly for next crêpe.) Cook until underside is just set and lightly browned, about 30 seconds, then invert crêpe onto a clean kitchen towel to cool completely. Make at least 11 more crêpes in same manner, brushing skillet with butter as needed and stacking crêpes in 3 piles.
• Make filling and assemble manicotti:
• Stir together ricotta, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, salt, and pepper.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
• Cut mozzarella lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick sticks.
• Spread 2 cups sauce in larger baking dish and 1 cup in smaller one. Arrange 1 crêpe, browned side up, on a work surface, then spread about 1/4 cup filling in a line across center and top with a mozzarella strip. Fold in sides to enclose filling, leaving ends open, and transfer, seam side down, to either baking dish. Fill 11 more crêpes in same manner, arranging snugly in 1 layer in both dishes (8 in larger dish and 4 in smaller). Spread 1 cup sauce over manicotti in larger dish and 1/2 cup in smaller dish. Tightly cover dishes with foil and bake until sauce is bubbling and filling is hot, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve remaining sauce on the side.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Spread 3/4 cup pasta sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
• Mix egg, pesto sauce and cheeses until blended; spoon into resealable plastic bag. Use scissors to cut small corner from bottom of bag.
• Fill manicotti shells by squeezing cheese mixture into both sides of each shell; place in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce; cover.
• Bake 40 min. or until heated through.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Cook thoroughly sausage and mushrooms (or saute assorted veggies if making veggie version) with garlic,italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.
• In saucepan, combine spaghetti sauce and water; heat to boiling, stirring frequently.
• Reduce heat; keep warm.
• In bowl, stir together cheeses, parsley, egg, salt and pepper; spoon into uncooked pasta tubes.
• Pour 1 cup sauce on bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish; arrange filled pasta in single layer over sauce.
• Pour remaining sauce over pasta; sprinkle with cheese if desired and cover with foil.
• Bake 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer.
• Serve -pasta and filling will be HOT!
• Enjoy!
• To make ahead and freeze:.
• MAKE AHEAD DIRECTIONS: Prepare as directed above; cool 30 minutes.
• Cover tightly with plastic wrap; then foil.
• Freeze up to 2 months.
• Thaw in refrigerator overnight (casserole is too dry if heated from frozen state)May want to add a small amount of additional moisture- water or sauce.
• Bake at 350°F 60 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the water, eggs and oil. Combine flour and salt; add to egg mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour., Heat a lightly greased 8-in. nonstick skillet over medium heat; pour 2 tablespoons batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between, For filling, combine the cheeses, parsley and egg. Spread half of spaghetti sauce in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Spoon 3 tablespoons of cheese mixture down the center of each crepe; roll up. Place seam side down over spaghetti sauce; pour remaining sauce over crepes. Sprinkle with Parmesan or Romano cheese. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Steps:

• Cook pasta as per directions on package.
• Combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella, pesto, garlic, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Set aside.
• Pour 2 cups of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a glass 9x13-inch pan.
• Stuff pasta's with cheese mixture and place in glass pan.
• Top with remaining sauce and parmesan cheese.
• Bake 350° for approximately 40 minutes.
• Serve with a nice salad, garlic bread and of course a fine red wine.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, 1 cup of the grated cheese, eggs, and pepper.
• Fill each crepe with approximately 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture centering it in a straight line down the middle. Top with the shredded mozzarella. Take one end of the crepe and fold over the cheese filling. Then take the other end and pulling slightly, fold over in a wrapping motion overlapping the stuffed portion of the crepe. Repeat until all 12 crepes are filled.
• Spread one cup of the sauce in the bottom of a large baking pan that has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray. Place the filled manicotti in the pan, seam down, side-by-side. Do not overlap, and do not layer them. Spoon the remaining sauce over the manicotti. Be sure to cover all the pasta. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes or until the sauce is hot and bubbling.
• Remove from the oven and let stand for approximately 10 to 15 minutes before serving. This will give the manicotti time to settle which will make for easy serving. The manicotti will fall apart if served immediately.
• In a pan heat the olive oil. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes on medium heat. Do not let garlic burn. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, and pepper. Let tomato mixture cook for approximately 30 minutes.

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.

Steps:

• Brown beef and garlic; drain.
• Mix next 4 ingredients; stir in beef.
• Fill each manicotti with about 1/4 cup of cheese and meat mixture.
• Place in a baking dish; cover with sauvce.
• Sprinkle with oregano and parmesan cheese.
• Cover with foil.
• Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes.