MAKE AHEAD MANICOTTI

By kdet

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh Italian sausage
• 1 (15 oz) container Ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese,
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Splenda granular (or sugar)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 12 uncooked manicotti shells.
• 3 1/2 cups marinara sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Step 1

MAKE AHEAD MANICOTTI
This makes about 6 servings. This is the easiest way I have found to make manicotti. I can never seem to fill the cooked tubes without tearing them into pieces. But with the uncooked noodles, I just put the filling into a pastry bag and pipe it into the hard shells. Please note that this takes a total of 4 1/2 cups marinara sauce.

Remove casings from 1 pound fresh Italian sausage; cook, breaking the meat up into pieces, until done; drain and set aside. Stir together 1 (15 oz) container Ricotta cheese and 2 eggs until blended. Stir the sausage into the cheese mixture with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 tablespoon Splenda granular (or sugar), 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stuff into 12 uncooked manicotti shells. A pastry bag with a large tip makes this very easy, just pipe filling in from both ends of the shell. You can also put the filling into a plastic bag, snip one of the bottom corners off and pipe it in (be careful that you don't cut too big of a hole in the bag). Spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce in the bottom of a lightly greased 11X7X2" baking dish. Arrange the stuffed shells in a single layer over the sauce. Pour 3 1/2 cups marinara sauce over the shells, covering shells completely. Cover dish with foil and chill at least 8 hours. Bake, uncovered, at 400F for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese and bake 15 minutes more.