Baked Manicotti

I made baked spinach manicotti a few weeks ago, and had some manicotti shells left over, so last night I looked up Cook's Illustrated version & used it for the filling. For the sauce I took a pound of chicken Italian sausage, removed the casings, sauted & chopped it up, cooked until done, then added a jar of Classico sauce & half a jar of water. And about a tablespoon of pesto that I've had frozen since last summer. (Only one serving left. Boo.)

This is what I did for the filling, from Cook's Illustrated:
1 16 ounce container of part-skim ricotta cheese
2 ounces (by weight) of mixed grated Parmesan and Romano cheese (about 1 cup)
4 ounces (by weight) of shredded mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)
1 large eggs , lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped dried parsley
This filled 8 manicotti shells, boiled until pliable (about 7 minutes). You can also use no-bake lasagna noodles that have been soaked in hot water until pliable.

Put about a cup of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Stuff the manicotti shells (I split them up the side, since I've learned it's a waste of effort to try to stuff them without splitting them). Lay the stuffed manicotti in one layer in the baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle a cup or so of shredded mozzerella over the top, cover with foil & bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove dish from oven, remove foil, turn on the broiler and sprinkle another 1/2 cup or so of grated parmesan & romano cheese over the top. Broil for a few minutes until lightly browned.

This was definitely the best filling recipe I've found. YUM.

This made about six or seven servings.

KEEWERD