Fried Manicotti Dippers Recipes

Steps:

• Par-boil manicotti noodles, drain.
• Place in a bowl of cold water to prevent sticking.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine eggs, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, 1/2 of the mozzarella,cheddar and ricotta cheeses and the seasonings.
• Drain shells, pat dry with paper towels.
• Fill shells with cheese mixture, spread 1/2 cup of the prepared spaghetti sauce over bottom of shallow 3 quart baking dish.
• Arrange filled shells over sauce; cover with remaining sauce and spoon remaining ricotta over each shell.
• Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan cheeses.
• Bake covered loosely with foil for 40 minutes.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the uncooked beef, beans, chili powder and oregano. Spoon into uncooked manicotti shells; arrange in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Combine water and picante sauce; pour over shells. Cover and refrigerate overnight. , Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, covered, at 350° for 1 hour. Uncover; spoon sour cream over the top. Sprinkle with cheese, onions and olives if desired. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted.

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Chop tomatoes in processor. Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until soft (do not brown), about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, then tomatoes, basil and salt. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Set aside.
• For filling:
• Beat ricotta in medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Mix in 1 cup Romano cheese, eggs, prosciutto and minced fresh parsley.
• For Crepes:
• Mix eggs and water in blender. Add flour and blend batter until smooth. Let stand 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)
• Heat crepe pan or heavy small skillet over medium-high heat. Brush pan lightly with olive oil. Remove pan from heat. Stir batter and ladle 2 tablespoons into corner of pan, tilting so batter just coats bottom. Return excess batter to bowl. Cook crepe until bottom is set (do not brown), about 5 seconds. Loosen edges with knife. Turn crepe and cook until second side is set (do not brown), about 5 seconds. Repeat with remaining batter, stirring occasionally. (Can be prepared ahead. Layer crepes between sheets of waxed paper and cool completely. Wrap tightly and refrigerate 3 days or freeze 1 month. Bring to room temperature before using.)
• For Assembly:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spoon 2 1/2 tablespoons filling down center of crepe. Place 1 mozzarella strip atop filling. Fold both sides of crepe over filling. Arrange seam side down in large baking dish. Repeat with remaining filling and crepes. (Can be prepared ahead. Cover crepes and sauce separately and refrigerate 1 day or freeze up to 2 weeks. Bring crepes to room temperature before baking. Rewarm sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally.)
• Stir whole basil leaves into sauce. Pour sauce over crepes. Sprinkle lightly with additional Romano cheese. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through, about 35 minutes.

Steps:

• In a large pot cook manicotti pasta with boiling salted water until al dente. Rinse with warm water and drain.
• In a large bowl mix together ricotta cheese, eggs, onion, grated Romano cheese, chicken bouillon, garlic, thyme, ground black pepper, and spinach.
• To assemble, fill manicotti noodles with cheese filling. Arrange noodles in a greased 9x13 inch pan. Pour tomato sauce down center of shells. Sprinkle with shredded Mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree(175 degree C) oven for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in manicotti and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and place on a baking sheet to cool. Place in freezer until hardened, about 5 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage, beef, and onion; saute 3 minutes. Add basil, rosemary, thyme, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Cook until meat is browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in 1/2 can tomato sauce and cook until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside to cool.
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat for the sauce. Add onion and saute 1 minute. Add remaining tomato sauce, rosemary, and thyme. Stir in basil and red pepper flakes.
• Fold mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese into the cooled meat mixture. Stuff each manicotti shell with meat mixture and place back onto the baking sheet. Place filled shells in the freezer to firm up, about 5 minutes. Slice shells into bite-sized pieces.
• Heat 2 quarts vegetable oil in a saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place flour, bread crumbs, and beaten eggs each in a separate bowl. Dredge manicotti slices in flour, then eggs, and then bread crumbs and place on the baking sheet.
• Fry slices in the hot oil until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve with the spicy tomato dipping sauce.

Steps:

• Brown the ground round and lightly rinse with hot water. Set aside. Brown the mild Italian Sausage and rinse in the same way.
• Place both meats into a food processor and process until fine and uniform.
• Take 1/3 of the meat mixture and place into the crockpot. Add all of the ingredients except for the ricotta, 1 tsp of Italian seasonings and 1 teaspoon of tarragon to the meat in the Crockpot. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Stirring occasionally. Salt to taste.
• Take the remaining 2/3 of the meat mixture and mix the 12 oz to 16 oz of ricotta, 1 teaspoons of Italian seasonings and 1 teaspoons tarragon. Mix well. Place into the fridge until sauce is nearly done.
• When sauce is nearly finished and when preparing to assemble:.
• Remove meat and ricotta mixture from refrigerator and let stand for 15 minutes, stir and place into a zip lock bag. Work meat and ricotta until nearly room temperature.
• Bring appropriate amount of water to a boil and cook manicotti to product specs. but just until the pasta is uniformly softened, but not completely cooked. If over cooked the shells will tear when trying to stuff. Put about 1/2 " of sauce into the bottom of a 9" x 13" casserole dish.
• Then snip a bottom corner from the bag with meat mixture, approximately 1/2 " in diameter.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Place the snipped end of the bag into one end of a cooked manicotti shell and squeeze the mixture into the shell until it is full but not splitting. If it splits just place split side down into pan and go on to the next. It takes some time to make this a technique.
• Place the cooked Manicotti staggered into the dish.
• Cover with more of the sauce to your liking.
• Cover with the Parmesan or save the Parmesan until serving and use as a garnish.
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• Serve with a green salad and sour dough bread, topped with butter and minced garlic and broiled .