Italian Sausage and Peppers Manicotti

Submitted by Miz Lily

"I wanted something special for my husband when he came home from a business trip and came up with this. He loved it, and now thinks I need to cook for him whenever he goes away. It made a lot and froze beautifully."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 45mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Yields: 1 13x9 pan
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 22 1⁄2 ounces ricotta cheese (1 1/2 15 oz container, I use fat free)
• 3 Italian sausages, casing removed (I've used turkey sausage also)
• 1⁄2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1⁄2 cup bell pepper, finely chopped (I used red and yellow, but use what you like)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced (or to taste)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (minced)
• 2 teaspoons italian seasoning
• 2 1⁄2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
• 3⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, grated (fresh if you can)
• 2 (26 ounce) jars marinara sauce (or spaghetti sauce, I prefer simple non-chunky sauce but use what you like)
• 1 cup water
• 1 (8 ounce) package manicotti

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Fry sausage with garlic, breaking it up as it cooks so its in small pea size chunks.
3. Add onions and bell peppers and cook until veggies are soft and flavors are blended. Drain well! I put it in a metal colander over a bowl and left it to sit to get rid of as much of the grease as possible.
4. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, and egg. Season with parsley, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Mix in 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Stir in the well drained sausage mixture.
5. In a separate bowl, stir together spaghetti sauce and water. Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
6. Stuff uncooked manicotti shells with ricotta mixture (fill a sturdy sealable storage bag and cut a corner off, works fabulous).
7. Arrange shells in a single layer in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until noodles are soft.
9. Note: The amounts of filling is more than needed for one box of shells, you can either buy more or use the extra filling for other things.

Reviews

[blake the steak]

Great recipe, tastes fantastic! Takes awhile to prepare but is really not that difficult at all.

 

[Luvs 2 Cook]

Miz Lily, what an AWESOME recipe! DH and DS absolutely love it! The flavors we great and even better the next day for lunch. I love that I didn't have to cook the manicotti shells first since I always break them. The only thing I did different was to cook all the sausage (I used turkey Italian) and add some to the sauce too. I also covered the pan for about 40 minutes and then uncovered and added more cheese for last 10 to 15 minutes. I will make this again. Thanks for such an easy flavorful dish.

 

[dede75]

This recipe was very good. The only thing I did different was I used frozen peppers and onions (birdseye pepper & onion)red and yellow peppers in the stores right now are very expensive(2.55 each)This worked out great.If you decide to do this you'll have to chop the veggies a little and drain real good after cooking.Thank you.