Manicotti - A Recipe.

I love Italian food and one of the things I like most about it, is it's ability to reheat very well. Actually, I prefer the taste of most pastas the next day! Another thing I like about this food genre, is it's simplicity. Most Italian dishes are fairly quick to prepare, cook and devour, making clean up a simple task, too!

When I get tired of the same ole lasagna and penne dishes, it's time to pull out the trusty manicotti recipe.

First you drizzle some olive oil in a pan and add a chopped onion, 1/2 pound of ground beef and 1/2 pound Italian sausage. You are more than welcome to use only ground beef if that's your preference, but I like the kick of the sausage mixed in as well.

Cook until meat is brown and onion is translucent. Set aside to cool.



Next, get out a big bowl and add 1 container of whole milk ricotta cheese, 2 C. mozzarella and 1/2 C. parmesan cheese. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste.



While your meat is cooling and you're mixing up your cheeses, boil your manicotti noodles for approximately 6 minutes - until very al dente. You want them semi-firm so that they're easy to stuff. They will soften up in the oven, so don't be scared if you aren't a fan of al dente pasta.



Place them on a sheet of wax paper to cool.

Add the meat mixture to your cheese mixture. And mix, mix, mix!



Now for the fun part!

Grab your little manicotti's and start stuffing them. You could be prim and proper and use a spoon, but you will likely split the pasta. That has happened to me more times than I can count. So use your hands; it's much easier.



Drizzle some olive oil in a 9X13 pan and pour half of your sauce in (you can use any kind; I used Bertolli).



Line up your stuffed pastas!



Top with the remaining sauce, 1 more cup of mozzarella and a few sprinkles of parmesan. Dot with butter.



Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.



Enjoy! :)