I have had manicotti in mind for several days now when considering what to make for dinner, so I finally caved to my craving and made it tonight. My problem is that I never get the filling flavorful enough for our tastes, so I tried adding some sweet Italian sausage to the filling mix. Let's just say I think it did the trick. :)
Three Cheese Manicotti with Italian Sausage
What you'll need:
1 (8 oz.) package Manicotti pasta
1 (15 oz.) tub of Ricotta cheese
6 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 T low fat sour cream
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
3 leaves fresh spinach, chopped
1 T basil
Garlic, minced, to taste
2 Italian Sausages, without casings
2 c spaghetti sauce
1/8 c Italian bread crumbs
Parmesan Cheese to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until done, drain. Then, in a skillet, brown the Italian sausage, making sure you break it up into small pieces. In a large bowl combine the ricotta cheese, 4 oz mozzarella cheese, sour cream, basil, parsley, spinach, garlic and pepper to taste, mixing well. Next add in the Italian sausage and mix well. In a 9 x 13" casserole dish, cover bottom of dish with a thin film of spaghetti sauce. Fill each manicotti with cheese mixture and place in dish; cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top of sauce, then top with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes and serve!
Ratings from the Experts*: 9/10 for both of us! This is a huge improvement on previous efforts to make this dish zippier and more flavorful. Definitely recommend trying this one!
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