Italian Sausage And Peppers Manicotti

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 22 1/2 ounces ricotta cheese (1 1/2 15 oz container, i use fat free)
• 3 italian sausages, casing removed (i've used turkey sausage also)
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, finely chopped (i used red and yellow, but use what you like)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced (or to taste)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (minced)
• 2 teaspoons italian seasoning
• 2 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated (fresh if you can)
• 2 (26 ounce) jars marinara sauce (or spaghetti sauce, i prefer simple non-chunky sauce but use what you like)
• 1 cup water
• 1 (8 ounce) package manicotti

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350 degrees f (175 degrees c).
• 2 fry sausage with garlic, breaking it up as it cooks so its in small pea size chunks.
• 3 add onions and bell peppers and cook until veggies are soft and flavors are blended. drain well! i put it in a metal colander over a bowl and left it to sit to get rid of as much of the grease as possible.
• 4 in a large bowl, combine ricotta, and egg. season with parsley, pepper, and italian seasoning. mix in 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and 1/2 cup parmesan. stir in the well drained sausage mixture.
• 5 in a separate bowl, stir together spaghetti sauce and water. spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• 6 stuff uncooked manicotti shells with ricotta mixture (fill a sturdy sealable storage bag and cut a corner off, works fabulous).
• 7 arrange shells in a single layer in the dish. cover with remaining sauce. sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
• 8 bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until noodles are soft.
• 9 note: the amounts of filling is more than needed for one box of shells, you can either buy more or use the extra filling for other things.