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Sunday, October 18, 2009

Manly Manicotti.. Good Stuff For Eats Today!








I've had some Manicotti Pasta in the pantry, crying out to be used.. These are large tubes of pasta, designed to be stuffed with ingredients Italian in flavor. I don't make the traditional stuffing, I add meat- Italian seasoned ground beef!
My filling is as follows:
1. 1lb. of cooked, seasoned ground beef.
2. 1lb. of Ricotta cheese.
3. 1 egg.
4. 6oz. of Parmesan cheese, finely grated.
5. 4oz. of red sauce.
Mix all this, and filling is ready for, well, filling!
While you were doing all that, you should have been boiling the pasta to Al Dente, then shocking in a bath of cold water, until quite cool..
This is where I use a Jerky gun, with a nozzle designed to make slim jims, as a filler tool, to keep the pasta tubes neat and full!
Put filled tubes in pan lubed with olive oil, as seen in photo..
Coat with 8oz. of red pasta sauce you either made or bought..
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and Romano cheeses lightly- more to flavor and thicken red sauce!
Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, then sprinkle with shredded Mozzarella to taste(I used about 6oz.)..
Bake for another 15 minutes, let set for 5 minutes..
You just made the best Manicotti you ever had! The one plate on redneck china, is my youngest son's "We deliver!" lunch.. he works Sundays, and works a mile from our house- so we bring him a plate..
My gooey version looks better than the one one the Manicotti box- don't cha think? :)
Later, I have to make a banana/walnut/cranberry bread you may enjoy..

49 comments:

Dr Zibbs said...

Mmm. I haven't made this in ages.

buffalodick said...

Me either, so I did!

Liz Mays said...

Oh my gosh, one of my favorites but YOUR recipe looks tip top!

Chef E said...

I am in a pasta mood, and this is rockin that boat now! Ha, I have never heard a paper plate called a 'redneck' plate...too funny!

Marjie said...

My hubby's sister makes great Italian food. Me, I can't take that much time for stuffing the tubes, especially since I'm just not that into pasta. I wouldn't refuse yours, however!

Donna-FFW said...

Manly manicotti, meat filled noodle, where do I begin except by saying Id love to down this.

buffalodick said...

BlueV- I know you would have loved it! We did, and I am my worst critic..
ChefE- We all use paper plates, but don't admit to it!
Marjie- The jerky gun fills 10 tubes in ten minutes, if you aren't in a hurry! More work than lasagna though, with about the same flavors..

buffalodick said...

Donna- I ate one, wife ate two, kid ate three! Four left, but not for long!

Rachel said...

Pasta is my favorite! You're speaking my language for sure, and it kinda inspires me to make my own Italian dish here soon :)

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

absolutely looks better... Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella... I love all the cheeses

Shelly Rayedeane said...

I haven't had Manicotti in years! That looks so delish!

buffalodick said...

Rachel-Jump right in! Italian is my forte, spices and sauces is where i do my best work! Always learning, happy to teach- if anyone wants..
Griller- Stuff is a lot of work, but came out really right!
Shels- Been awhile since I got that crazy to go through all that work! Came out as good as I could ever want!

TMI Queen said...

I may have just had a foodgasm.

Vodka Mom said...

I KNEW I smelled something good.

Last time I made stuffed shells, I added sausage to the stuffing. It was SUPER!!!!

buffalodick said...

Amy- Glad I could help, sorry I didn't get to watch! God, I'm a bad man....

buffalodick said...

V-mom- It was discussed, but went with straight beef this time!

Christo Gonzales said...

El Dente sounds like a chicano gang member in South Central LA - Al Dente is his italian cousin...Looks really really good - and smart move on the jerky gun - I dont have a jerky gun so I use a cookie spritzer -LOL

UBERMOUTH said...

That looks really good [and I don't even like pasta]......I would kill for a chicken noodle soup recipe.

buffalodick said...

DogB- Consider the misspell corrected.. oops..

buffalodick said...

Uberlips- First, you tell the chicken it's time for a bath... Just kiddin'.. really need one, E-mail me and I will oblige!

Kate said...

I had a wicked manicotti recipe for years. It was vegetarian and you didn't have to cook the manicotti, you filled it raw and it cooked in the sauce. But sadly, I lost the recipe somewhere along the way and I have yet to recreate it. Enjoy.

Unknown said...

Can't say I've ever made manicotti. Not sure why, but I should try it sometime. I'd take a double serving of yours, though!

Lea Ann said...

Manicotti is a needy pasta dish, somewhat of a personality flaw. Always calling out to us to be used. That's why I keep it in my pantry. YUM

MarmiteToasty said...

Dam, now thats my kinda grub lol

x

G-Man said...

Good Eats Buff.....

Mona said...

wow! that recipe sounds as delicious as the looks of its result!

buffalodick said...

Kate- I've done a no boil pasta recipe before, and they work pretty good..
Shelly- Filling the tubes is time consuming without a good filling method!
LeaAnn- Always have Lasagna or Manicotti noodles in stock..
Marmy- Had a few leftover- wife grabbed them for lunch at work today..
G-man- Thanks- it was time for pasta!
Mona- Moisture comes out of the Ricotta cheese, keeping it moist, but not runny..

Odat said...

hmmm...manicotti lasagna...kinda...
Looks yummy.....I love that stuff...I never make it tho..too much work and I don't have the time now that I'm retired..ahahahaha.
Peace

Tanya Kristine said...

mm. i love manicotti. AND your bread thing. make some canolis! i always see them on everyboyd loves raymond but i dont' know what they are.

Stacy Uncorked said...

Heh, I started reading this post yesterday, then got hungry and had to go eat something...forgot to come back and comment! :)

I NEED to get one of those slim jim thingys! That would make stuffing shells SO much easier!

Usually I don't boil the noodles so they're easier to stuff - then just make sure they're covered with sauce so the noodles cook thoroughly while baking. I'm always worried that if I boil them first then bake them that the noodles will be more on the 'mushy' side - I can't stand 'mushy' pasta. But on the flip side, they wouldn't have to be baked as long...so I definitely need to get one of those slim jim's! :)

buffalodick said...

Odat- It is a little more work than most meals, but I try it a couple times a year..
Tanya- The bread came out good- I'll post about it soon..

Anonymous said...

Oh I love Manicotti buffalod ! In fact I made it about 2 weeks back, only it was the traditional Spinach with Ricotta, your take on it is FANTASTIC and would please my meat loving hubs as he is not too excited about my vegan version : ) .... But also, its sooo sweet of you to take food for your son, I can see my self being just like that when the little one's leave the nest... i can't even fathom how hard it would be to see them go... : ( ...

buffalodick said...

Stacy- Shocking the shells in cold water after simmering is the key to handling cooked shells.. Also, DogB uses a piping bag for filling- which probably works quite well, too..
Nat- I've made meatless, Italian sausage, and beef.. we seem to prefer the straight beef, even though not strictly traditional! I still cook too much food, and my kid can still eat anytime- anywhere!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Manly? Using a jerky gun? Plaheeeeze! Don't tell me you're scared to get your hands dirty!
;-)

This does look delish Buff, I haven't made this in a long time and it's one of my favs!

pinknest said...

Ohmygoodness, I have been CRAVING manicotti lately! I was going to make it the other week, but ended up making lasagna instead. I like how you add beef to yours. Excellent.

buffalodick said...

Katherine- Welcome back! Even if you brought a smart mouth comment! How many women even have a jerky gun? I use it because it's fast, but believe me- it's still messy! Where you been? Missed you!

buffalodick said...

Pink- It hit the spot yesterday, and came out texture-wise almost perfect!

Akelamalu said...

Are they like Canneloni tubes only bigger? I adore Canneloni!

Unknown said...

Oh man, I LOVE manicotti, and it's been SO long since I've had it! Maybe Beth will make it for us next time I'm there. I mean, I can't, cause I have no italian blood in me whatsoever, and I'm SURE that matters, right?

Just telling it like it is said...

Must send that dish to me! yummmy!

buffalodick said...

Ake- Canneloni is more for dessert pasta, in my head...
Bina- I haven't a drop of Italian blood, but love their cuisine!
Darngirl- Wife made off with leftovers already!

Shelly Rayedeane said...

I'm with Uber. Chicken noodle soup would taste so good right now.

*sneezes and bats eyelashes*

buffalodick said...

Shels- Tonight it's Nachos Supreme! That will clear sinuses like you wouldn't believe!
P.S.- Snot flying everywhere, with red, runny eyes does not off set flapping eyelashes at me..HeeHeeHee.. I really do hope you both feel better soon!

Hit 40 said...

This used to be my specialty. I had forgotten all about manicotti. Nice!!

Just telling it like it is said...

Darn foiled again!

tavolini said...

mmmm...I haven't had manicotti in ages! Good call using the jerky gun :)

buffalodick said...

hit40- I hear you open a mean can of cat food... :)
Darngirl- I didn't even get another one!
Tavolini- I was proud of figuring that way to load shells- goes pretty quick..

Chris said...

Good god I love those! We did one with spinach and italian sausage. They make great breakfast leftovers too!

buffalodick said...

Chris- Never thought of breakfast...Why not?