Beef & Cheese Manicotti

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 8 ounces manicotti
• 1 (15 ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 3 cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 4 cups spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into small pieces

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350 degrees f.
• 2 cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still firm if eaten. be careful not to let them get too soft or it makes stuffing them very difficult.
• 3 heat a large pan over medium heat.
• 4 saute the ground beef and onion in olive oil.
• 5 remove from the heat and let cool.
• 6 brush a small amount of oil over a large baking sheet and place the firmly cooked manicotti on it to cool.
• 7 meanwhile combine the ricotta, 1 1/2-2 cups of mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of parmesan.
• 8 add the minced garlic, salt & pepper to taste, and mix.
• 9 stir the cooled meat mixture with the cheese mixture.
• 10 brush another small amount of oil over a 13 by 9 glass baking dish.
• 11 spoon 1 1/2 cups of the spaghetti sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish.
• 12 fill the manicotti with the cheese and meat mixture, being careful not to break the noodles.
• 13 arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the dish and spoon the remaining sauce over the manicotti.
• 14 sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella and the parmesan cheese over the pasta.
• 15 place the small butter pieces all over the dish.
• 16 bake the stuffed manicotti uncovered until heated through. the sauce will bubble on the sides of the dish, takes around 35 minutes.
• 17 let the manicotti stand for about 5 minutes.
• 18 serve.