Sausage Stuffed Manicotti Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine sausage and cottage cheese. Stuff into uncooked manicotti shells. Place in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Top with marinara sauce. , Cover and bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the center of a shell reads 160°., Uncover; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 8-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Freeze option: Transfer individual portions of cooled manicotti to freezer containers; freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Transfer to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high, stirring occasionally; add a little spaghetti sauce if necessary.

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.

Steps:

• Make the crepes (crespelle):
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and melted butter. Gradually whisk in the flour and salt until the mixture is smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour until slightly thickened.
• Spray an 8-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Place the pan over medium heat. With a small ladle, pour about 3 tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Turn the pan at a 45 degree angle to coat the pan evenly so the batter forms a perfect circle. Cook the crepe only until lightly browned, about 30 seconds. Turn the crepe over with a spatula and cook the other side only until lightly browned, about 30 seconds. Slide the crepe onto a 12-inch platter and continue the process with the remaining batter. Stack the crepes between waxed paper so they don't stick. You can prepare these crepes a day in advance covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. No need to reheat the crepes before filling and baking.
• Make the ricotta filling:
• In a large bowl, add all the ingredients for the ricotta filling. With a large wooden spoon or spatula, stir all the ingredients until well blended. Store covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator until ready to use. You can make this filling the day before.
• Make the marinara sauce:
• In a large heavy nonreactive saucepan with a lid, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic and cook until fragrant but NOT browned. Add the crushed tomatoes to the pan and crush further with a potato masher. Simmer 30 minutes, slightly covered, on medium-low heat, stirring every so often.
• Add the parsley, basil leaves and salt and pepper, to taste, and simmer for another 10 minutes until the sauce is slightly reduced. Taste and re-season as necessary.
• Put it all together:
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with 1 cup of the prepared marinara sauce.
• Spoon 3 tablespoons of the prepared ricotta filling 1 inch from the edge of a crepe. Roll evenly into a log, keeping the filling even as you roll. Repeat with the remaining crepes. Place manicotti seam side down and side by side in the sauced baking pan.
• Spoon 1 to 2 cups of sauce over the top of the manicotti. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan.
• Cover the baking dish loosely with foil and bake about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake another 20 minutes until the topping is golden brown and sides are bubbling. Let rest about 15 minutes before serving to firm up the manicotti filling.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Cook manicotti as directed on package, omitting salt.
• Meanwhile, crumble sausage into large skillet; cook on medium heat until done, stirring frequently. Drain sausage; return to skillet. Remove from heat. Add Neufchatel, milk and seasoning; stir until Neufchatel is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Add ricotta, parsley and 3 Tbsp. Parmesan; mix well.
• Spread 1 cup pasta sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Drain manicotti; stuff with sausage mixture. Place in single layer in prepared baking dish; top with nd remaining pasta sauce.
• Bake 30 min. or until heated through, topping with mozzarella and remaining Parmesan for the last 5 min.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, spinach, Parmesan cheese, egg, oregano and garlic; stuff into uncooked manicotti shells. Place in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., Crumble sausage into a large skillet; cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce; pour over manicotti. Pour water along sides of pan. , Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake 5-8 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

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.

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.

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.

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.