Hearty Manicotti

By Booper-2

Ingredients

• 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage links
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2-1/2 tsp. dried basil, divided
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt, divided
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups (30 oz.) Sargento® Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1-1/4 cups (5 oz.) Sargento® Artisan Blends® Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 3-1/2 cups (15 oz.) Sargento® Traditional Cut Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) manicotti shells, cooked according to package directions

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 60mins
Adapted from sargento.com

Preparation

Step 1

1

Combine 1/4 cup water and sausage in large covered saucepan; cook over medium heat 5 minutes. Uncover and allow sausage to brown well. Drain sausage on paper towels; set aside.

2

Brown beef and onion in same saucepan over medium heat; drain. Stir in tomato purée, tomato paste, sugar, pepper, 1 tsp. basil, 1 tsp. salt and 1 cup water; cover and simmer 45 minutes.

3

Cut sausage into bite-size pieces; add to beef mixture. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4

Combine eggs, Ricotta, Parmesan and 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, parsley, 1-1/2 tsp. basil and 1/2 tsp. salt in large bowl. Spoon into manicotti pasta shells; set aside.

5

Spoon half of meat sauce into large shallow baking pan or two 11x7-inch pans. Place cheese-stuffed pasta shells on top. Spoon remaining meat sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle with remaining Mozzarella. Bake in preheated 375°F oven 30 minutes or until heated through.