Janice's Manicotti

In my house, we like pasta dishes a lot.  So when a friend told me she liked to make this recipe for special occasions, I said I'd like to try it.

My friend, Janice Berru, was happy to share this recipe with me, providing helpful hints at the top of the page!  It was a big hit with my guys, as they gave it 8's and 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.  Janice was pleased when I told her that her recipe was blog worthy and that I would be sharing it soon!

I began by preheating the oven to 350°F.  I then placed the sausage in a large skillet and browned it over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooked.  While that was cooking, I began heating water to boiling in a Dutch oven to cook the manicotti according to the package directions. 

To the browned sausage, I added the chopped garlic and cooked an additional 2 minutes to let the garlic cook, but not brown.

I then added the spinach, stirring to combine and cooked it an additional 5 minutes.

Once the manicotti was cooked, I placed the pan in the sink and started a stream of cold water running into the pan to replace the boiling water.  This stops the cooking process and by keeping the pasta in water, it prevents the pieces from sticking together.

In a large bowl, I beat the eggs using a fork.  Then I added the ricotta cheese, basil and salt, stirring to combine.

To that mixture I added the sausage mixture, stirring to combine.

After greasing a 9- x 13-inch baking dish, I added enough pasta sauce to lightly cover the bottom of the dish.

After removing a manicotti shell from the water and blotting it with a paper towel, I filled it with the sausage mixture using a spoon.  I found it easiest to fill from one end first, then turn it over and continue  from the other end.  This is a messy process.  I repeated this with the rest of the pasta, placing them in the baking dish as each one was filled.

I poured the remaining pasta sauce over the top of the manicotti.

Then I sprinkled the parmesan cheese on top.  I covered the dish with foil and baked it in the oven at 350°F for 30 minutes.  I then uncovered the dish and baked it for an additional 10 minutes.

I served this dish with Leon Salad (previous post) and some garlic bread.  What a treat!  Enjoy!

Janice’s Manicotti

1 box manicotti

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bag fresh spinach, chopped

2 eggs

1 (15 oz.) contain ricotta cheese

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 jar pasta sauce

¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a Dutch oven, bring water to a boil.  Add manicotti and gently boil for 7 minutes.  Remove pot from heat, place in sink and run cold water into pot, replacing the boiling water with cold water.  In the meantime, cook Italian sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.  Add garlic.  Sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, making sure the garlic does not brown.  Stir in chopped spinach and cook an additional 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs; stir in ricotta, basil and salt.  Stir in sausage/spinach mixture.  Fill the manicotti tubes with the mixture.  Lightly grease a 9-x13-inch baking dish and spread enough pasta sauce to lightly cover the bottom.  Place stuffed manicotti in baking dish.  Pour remaining pasta sauce over the filled shells and sprinkle with cheese.  Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 5-10 minutes.

Italian Sausage Casserole

As I thought about what I should make for dinner on Valentine's Day this year, I realized that my blog would be celebrating it's 1 year anniversary!  My first posts were about the meals I made a year ago on Valentines Day.  One of the easiest ways to make a Valentine's themed main dish is to make a pasta dish with a red sauce, making sure the sauce shines through a heart-shaped hole in the mozzarella cheese.

This year I decided to try a new recipe from my February/March 2013 issue of Simple and Delicious.  My guys are always up for any dish that has pepperoni and pasta.  This dish got all 8's on the Melnarik rating scale.

To begin, I began cooking the penne according to the package directions and preheated my oven to 350ºF.  Then, in a Dutch oven I combined the Italian sausage, chopped onions and bell peppers, and sliced mushrooms.  I cooked this mixture over medium heat until the sausage was browned and the vegetables were tender, breaking up the sausage as it cooked.  I then drained off the fat.

I added the pepperoni and continued to cook on medium until the pepperoni was heated through.

Then, I added the spaghetti sauce mix, stirring to thoroughly combine.

To that, I added the tomato paste, making sure it was fully incorporated.

Next, I added the water, garlic salt and olive oil, again, stirring to combine.  In the future, I would add the garlic salt at the same time as the spaghetti mix.  It just makes sense to me to add all the dry ingredients at the same time and by adding it directly to the meat, the heat of the pan will sear them to the meat.

Finally, once the penne was fully cooked, I drained it and added it to the sauce.  I mixed it until all of the pasta was covered in the sauce.

I then transferred the mixture to my baking dishes.  In this case, I was feeding my oldest son before he left for class, so I used one small casserole dish for him and a larger one for the rest of the family.  Pictured here is the small one I put together for him.  The entire recipe should fit in a 9- x 13-inch baking dish.  I placed a metal (important that it's metal as it will go into the oven!) heart-shaped cookie cutter in the center of the casserole.

Next, I added the shredded mozzarella cheese, making sure it touched the outside of the cookie cutter.  This ensures a perfectly shaped heart once the cookie cutter is removed.

Of course, in my larger casserole dish I had to use a larger cookie cutter.

I put the casserole in the oven and baked it at 350ºF for 25 minutes.  When I removed it from the oven, I took a sharp paring knife and cut around the outside of the cookie cutter and, using a paper towel to protect my fingers from the heat, I removed the cookie cutter.  I paired this dish with a Savory Biscuit Bubble Bread (see post below) that I baked in a heart-shaped pan.  It's just a simple way to show my family that I love them on Valentine's Day!  Enjoy!

Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza Pasta

1 (14.5 oz) package uncooked penne

1 pkg. (1 lb.) Italian sausage

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pkg. (3 ½ oz.) sliced pepperoni

3 ½ cups water

2 cans (6 oz. each) tomato paste

2 envelopes thick and zesty spaghetti sauce mix

¼ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon garlic salt

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded part-skin mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Cook penne according to package directions.  Meanwhile, cook the sausage, mushrooms, pepper and onion in a Dutch oven over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are tender; drain.  Add pepperoni and cook until heated through.  Stir in water, tomato paste, spaghetti sauce mix, oil and garlic salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4 – 5 minutes or until heated through.  Drain pasta; sir into sausage mixture.  Transfer to a greased 9- x 13-inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake uncovered, at 350ºF for 25 – 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Italian Stew

Cold days make me want something hot and satisfying for dinner, like a tasty stew.  This one is packed full of flavor and so simple to make.

I found this recipe in the September/October 1999 issue of my Quick Cooking magazine and I've been making it for years.  It's a hearty stew that I put in the "comfort food" category.  My guys give this recipe 8's and 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.

I begin by placing the Italian sausage in my Dutch oven, breaking it up as it cooks over medium-high heat.  When the meat is no longer pink, I drain it to remove any excess fat.

While the sausage was cooking, I chopped the onions and sliced the celery and carrots.  After draining the sausage, I added these vegetables to it, stirring to combine and reduced the heat to medium.

In a very small bowl, I combined the Italian seasoning, basil, salt and pepper.

I added the seasonings to the sausage and vegetable mixture and cooked it for 5 minutes until the vegetables were crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

Then I added the tomatoes, stirring to combine.

To that, I added the tomato soup, again stirring to combine.

Whenever a recipe calls for adding water as well as canned goods, I always add a little bit of the water to each can to capture anything left in the can and add it to the dish.  My mom always did that, saying she didn't want to waste any of the flavor that could be left in the can.  Once all of the water is added, I bring the pot to a boil.  Then I reduce the heat, cover the pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes.  Then I stir in the rice, cover the pot and cook for another 10 minutes.  I just realized I must not have taken a picture after adding the water, as the one above has the rice added already, sorry!

 

This hearty stew is bursting with flavor and will warm you to the core on a cold day!  Enjoy!

Italian Stew

1 pound bulk Italian sausage

1medium onion, chopped

½ cup chopped celery

2 medium carrots, sliced 1/8 inch thick

½ teaspoon Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 can (14.5 oz.) Italian stewed tomatoes

1 can (10 ¾ oz.) condensed tomato soup, undilitued

2 cups water

¾ cup uncooked instant rice

In a Dutch oven, cook the sausage until no loner pink; drain.  Add the onion, celery, carrots, Italian seasoning, basil, salt and pepper.  Cook and sir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender.  Stir in the tomatoes, soup and water; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Stir in the rice, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until tender.


Yield:  4 servings

Crock Pot Cheesy Italian Tortellini

More often than not, I use my crock pot when I won't be home to eat dinner with my family, or we're eating at different times.  When I made this meal recently, I was not going to be home.  The majority of the dish is placed in the crock pot hours before serving, the only thing my guys had to do was add the tortellini about 15 minutes before serving and then top each dish with the mozzarella cheese I had already shredded for them.  I also requested they take pictures of the last few steps for this blog.  Jimmy handled these tasks for me and did a fine job; thank you, Jimmy!

I found this recipe in one of those magazines that are sold near the checkout stand at the market many years ago.  The recipe says it yields 4 to 6 servings, but my guys ate every last drop with no leftovers and there are only 3 of them!  This time, this dish got one 7, one 8 and one 9 on the Melnarik rating scale.  The person (who shall remain nameless!) who gave the 7 said it was a little heavy on the tomato taste for him.  I didn't tell him I used a different brand of marinara sauce this time.  Perhaps that lowered his rating from the 8 it used to be.

I begin by putting the Italian sausage in a large saucepan and cook it over medium heat until browned.  As it cooks, I keep turning the mean and breaking it up with my spoon.

Once the sausage is fully cooked, I drain off any fat and place it in my pre-heated crock pot.  Hint:  Hot foods should always be placed in a pre-heated crock pot and cold foods in a cool crock pot to heat together.

To the sausage, I add the marinara sauce, fresh mushrooms, and canned tomatoes.

Those ingredients get stirred together to combine.  The crock pot gets covered and the dish is cooked on low for 7 to 8 hours.  Hint:  For most recipes, if you need to lessen the amount of time for cooking, placing your crock pot on the high heat setting will cut the cooking time in half.  For example, a dish cooked on low for 8 hours can be cooked on high for 4 hours.  In this case, by the time everything was in the crock pot, there was only 5 hours before dinner time, so I cooked it on high for 2 hours (which equalled 4 hours on low) followed by 3 hours on low, which gave me the same result as 7 hours on the low setting.

This is how it looks after the full cooking time.  

About 15 minutes before serving, the refrigerated tortellini is added.

The tortellini gets stirred into the sauce, the lid is placed back on the crock pot, and it is cooked for an additional 15 minutes.  This is the perfect amount of time to throw together a quick salad and/or garlic bread!

I find this dish is best served in a bowl, and topped with shredded mozzarella cheese .  As you can see from the picture above, my guys really like cheese!  Enjoy!

Crock Pot Cheesy Italian Tortellini

1 pound bulk Italian sausage

1 container (15 oz.) refrigerated marinara sauce

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained

1 package (9 oz.) refrigerated cheese tortellini

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

Cook sausage in a medium saucepan or skillet over medium heat about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.  Add sausage to pre-heated 4- to 5-quart crock pot.   Add marinara sauce, mushrooms, and tomatoes; stir to combine.  Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.  Stir in tortellini; cover and cook on low heat setting about 15 minutes longer or until tortellini is tender.  Top each serving with mozzarella cheese.

Liza's Pizza Pasta Toss

This is one of those dishes that is hearty, tastes somewhat like pizza (which most kids love) and it's easy to prepare.  I call that a winning recipe!

I originally found this recipe in my May/June 2009 issue of Simple and Delicious, but each time I've made it I've changed it a little to suit my family's taste and make it blog worthy!  This recipe now gets 8's and 9's on the Melnarik rating scale.  With so many changes to the original recipe, I now call it my own!

I begin by putting some water in a Dutch oven over high heat to start boiling it to cook the pasta.  Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, I combine the Italian sausage, bell pepper and mushrooms.  I cook this mixture until the meat is browned and the vegetables are tender, breaking up the sausage as it cooks.

My first cooking teacher in Jr. High taught that if several dry spices are to be added to a dish, they should be combined in a small bowl first.  This way they are more easily distributed evenly in the dish.  I've always done this, plus I add it directly to the meat (once the fat is drained off) so the heat of the pan sears the spices to it.

Once combined, the spices get added to the meat mixture, stirring occasionally as it continues to cook.

Next in the pan goes the pepperoni.  I like to use the Hormel brand of pepperoni in the 3.5 oz. box and cut the pieces in half before peeling them apart and adding them to the pan.  I cut them in half so there aren't really big pieces of pepperoni in the dish, plus it doubles the number of pieces so there is likely to be pepperoni in each bite!

To this mixture I add the pizza sauce and diced tomatoes, mixing thoroughly and heating through for about 5 minutes.

Once the pasta is cooked according to the package directions, I drain it and add the meat mixture, stirring to combine.

Once I transfer it to a serving dish, the mozzarella cheese gets added to the top of the piping hot dish, which makes it melt perfectly.

This is an easy pasta dish, which is loaded with flavor.  Enjoy!

Liza’s Pizza Pasta Toss

3 ½ cups uncooked spiral pasta

1 pound Italian sausage

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 bell pepper, diced

1 (14 oz.) jar pizza sauce

1 (4.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes

3.5  ounces pepperoni slices, halved

4 ½ teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon dried minced onion

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, cook Italian sausage, mushrooms, and bell pepper in a Dutch oven over medium heat; drain.  Add the rest of the ingredients except cheese; cook and stir for 5 minutes.  Strain pasta; add to meat mixture, stir to mix thoroughly; heat through.  Sprinkle with cheese, remove from heat, cover until cheese is melted.