To everyone that reads The Front Porch here, I have been away for a few weeks as my family has travelled from North Carolina to Alaska. Thursday we got our houshehold goods delivered, and spent the past 2 days unpacking and getting settled. Tonight was the first real dinner I was able to cook.
In honor of having my real kitchen back, I decided to make Stuffed Manicotti for dinner.
To start, finely chop one small onion, dice 2 cloves of garlic, and cook them in a skillet with 1 pound of ground beef. Cook until the beef is browned, breaking the meat up as much as possible.
When the beef is cooked, set it aside. (Drain off any excess grease)
Cook the manicotti noodles according to the instructions. You want them to be “al dente.” Cooked but not mushy. Still firm.
In a mixing bowl, combine 1/3 c grated parmesean cheese.
1 cup of shredded mozzarella.
2 tsp basil and 1 tsp parsley. (Don’t let the color fool you, it’s my purple basil from my garden back in NC.)
A 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
And the ground beef mixture. Stir to combine.
Now here’s my trick. Take a quart sized freezer bag, and spoon all of the filling into it.
Cut about a 1 inch piece off at the corner. You have an instant automatic manicotti filler. Have you ever tried to fill manicotti noodles by hand? It’s a nightmare! Now just stick the corner in, and squeeze. Try as I might, I only have 2 hands, so I couldn’t take a picture of it, but trust me. It takes the hassle out of filling manicotti.
As you fill the noodles, place them into a 9×13 baking dish, that has been lightly sprayed with oil.
Now, spoon your favorite spaghetti sauce over the top.
Top it with another 1/3 cup of parmesan…
and about 2 cups of mozzarella.
Bake it in the oven at 350 degrees, for 25-35 minutes, or until nice and bubbly. Let it rest 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
Printable version:
Stuffed Manicotti
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 c shredded mozzarella (divided)
2/3 c grated parmesan (divided)
1 box manicotti noodles
1 15 oz. carton ricotta cheese
2 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1 jar spaghetti sauce, 25 oz.
Cook onion, garlic and ground beef in a skillet until browned, breaking up the meat as much as possible. Set aside, draining excess grease if necessary.
Cook noodles according to instructions, al dente.
In a mixing bowl, combing 1/3 c parmesan, 1 c mozzarella, basil, parsley, ricotta cheese, and beef mixture.
Place mixture into a quart sized ziplock, then trim off one corner. About a 1 inch piece. Fill each noodle by squeezing mixture into the noodle. Place each filled noodle into a 9×13 greased baking dish.
Spoon spaghetti sauce over top.
Sprinkle cheeses over all.
Bake 25-35 minutes or until bubbly. Allow to set 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
Conni is an army wife and homeschooling mother of 3. Her family now lives in Alaska. You can learn more about her (including the 5,000 mile trip her family just made) and find many more recipes on her blog: MrsMamaHen
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