Recipe: Hearty Manicotti

recipelink.com Chat Room Recipe Swap - 2001-07-11
From: recipelink.com

Hearty Manicotti
From: Harry Godwin
Newsgroup posting
Date: 1-16-99

Makes 8 main dish servings

1 lb. Italian sweet sausage links
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 (16 oz.) cans tomato puree
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
basil
salt
1 (8 oz.) package manicotti shells, cooked and drained
4 cups ricotta cheese
1 (8 oz.) package mozzarella cheese, diced
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
Parmesan cheese (for topping)

Over medium heat, in covered 5 quart Dutch oven, cook sausage links in the 1/4-cup water for 5 minutes. Uncover, brown well; drain sausage on paper towel.

Spoon fat from Dutch oven. Over medium heat, brown ground beef and onions, stir in tomato puree, paste, sugar, pepper, 1-tsp. basil, 1-tsp. salt, 1-cup water; cover and simmer 45 minutes. Cut sausage into bite-size pieces; add to mixture and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta and mozzarella, parsley, 3/4-tsp. basil, 1/2-tsp salt; stuff into shells.

Spoon half of meat sauce into 13x 9-inch baking dish. Place half of shells over sauce in one layer. Reserve 3/4-cup sauce. Spoon remaining sauce over shells, top with remaining shells in one layer. Spoon reserved meat sauce over top. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake 30 minutes.