Stuffed Manicotti Recipe

This flavorful manicotti recipe fills about 14 manicotti shells. Add a little zing and spice it up with a shake of hot sauce!

Ingredients

1 packages (14 manicotti shells)
6 medium to large fresh white mushrooms, sliced
1 medium sized white onion, chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 Tablespoons butter
1 (960 ml) can tomato sauce
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1.5 Tablespoons oregano flakes
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup dry cottage cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups fresh spinach leaves chopped
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Mince the garlic, chop the onion into small pieces and slice the mushrooms in preparation of cooking.

In a large frying pan on the stovetop, melt the tablespoon of butter on low and add the garlic and onions to the pan. Fry on medium low heat until transparent. Add the sliced mushrooms, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Transfer this mixture into a deep cooking pot.

Place the hamburger meat into the frying pan you used for the onions and cook the hamburger meat until it is crumbly and no longer pink. Set aside. Salt and pepper the meat while cooking. Stir the dried oregano.

Once cooked transfer the meat from the frying pan into the large cooking pot. If there is fat from cooking the meat, drain it off before adding to the other cooked ingredients.

Add the tomato sauce, stir together and simmer for about 20 minutes to bring out the flavors. Do a taste test and adjust your seasonings to your taste. While the sauce is simmering, fill a large pot with water, cover and bring to a boil.

One at a time, drop the manicotti shells into the pot and boil for about 10 minutes to al dente. Once cooked, drain out the cooking water.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry cottage cheese, ricotta cheese and spinach. Add this mixture to the tomato meat sauce and stir in. Turn the heat off, cover with a lid and let sit for 5 minutes. Strain the juice from the sauce into a bowl and set the juice aside for later. This will make the meat sauce thicker and easier to stuff into the manicotti.

Assembly

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Use a 9x13 inch baking pan.

Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let set for 5-7 minutes before slicing.