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• Recipe Overview
• Ingredients
• Processes - Utensils
• Instructions

• Cuisine

  European >> Italian >> Italian

• Dietary Style

• Source

  Genius Kitchen(food.com)

| 1. Cook manicotti according to package directions; drain. Set aside. (Or don't and increase the sauce measurements. If increasing the sauce measurements you may want to use a roaster or a deeper pan.). | 2. To prepare tomato sauce: In Dutch oven (or large heavy saucepan) add olive oil and 1 cup onions. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until onions are soft (5-8 minutes). Add tomatoes, reserved juice, and all remaining sauce ingredients (tomato paste, basil, sugar, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper). Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce just comes to a boil (2-4 minutes). Cover; reduce heat to low. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, 35 minutes. | 3. Meanwhile, to prepare filling: in 10-inch skillet add sausage, 1/4 cup onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sausage is browned (10-12 minutes). Drain off fat. Add spinach. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until spinach is soft (2-3 minutes). Place sausage mixture in large bowl. Cool 10 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup Parmesan, eggs, oregano, and 1/4 t pepper. Set aside. | 4. To prepare bechamel sauce: in 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth and bubbly (1 minute). Add milk, whipping cream, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens (5-8 minutes). | 5. Heat oven to 375. Divide filling between manicotti tubes using a small spoon to fill each tube with about 2 T of filling (I use my clean hands--think stuffing a roll of coins). Place 1/4 cup tomato sauce on bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking pan (more if you don't boil the noodles and in a deeper pan). Place filled tubes on top of tomato sauce. Pour bechamel sauce over tubes. Top with remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. | 6. **This is a great OAMC recipe. Before cooking/prep day, I would prepare the tomato sauce and sausage/spinach filling mixture and chill (I would prepare the tomato sauce anyway to serve as a pasta sauce--I could literally drink the stuff!). Make the bechamel sauce the day of your big session. Fill the tubes and prep the pans. Cook 45 minutes (Covered!), wrap in foil and freeze. On "eating day," cook at 375 until tubes are al dente (they probably already will be) and bubbly and cheese is melted. I would keep it covered for most of the cooking time. This is a very very rich recipe, so I would serve with a salad of bitter greens tossed in a sharp vinaigrette. It says it serves 8, but, as I said, the sauces are so rich that I can't really eat more than one tube, so I would say it serves 14. | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Estimated Nutritional Profile for Ingredients

Ingredient Name	Quantity	Unit	State	Energy (kcal)	Carbohydrates	Protein (g)	Total Lipid (Fat) (g)
manicotti	14		uncooked	403.4676	0.0	89.7602	2.2667
olive oil	1/4	cup		477.36	0.0	0.0	54.0
onion	1	cup	chopped	64.0	14.944	1.76	0.16
italian tomato	1	can	chopped	-	-	-	-
tomato paste	1	can		139.4	32.147	7.343999999999999	0.799
basil leaf	2	tablespoons	chopped canned	403.4676	0.0	89.7602	2.2667
sugar	1	teaspoon		18.354	4.5908	0.0	0.0
salt	1/2	teaspoon		-	-	-	-
pepper	1/4	teaspoon	ground	1.4432	0.3677	0.0597	0.0187
bulk italian sausage	1		ground	403.4676	0.0	89.7602	2.2667
onion	1/4	cup	chopped	64.0	14.944	1.76	0.16
garlic	2	teaspoons	chopped	8.344	1.8514	0.3562	0.027999999999999997
spinach	2	cups	chopped used chopped defrosted	66.0	11.7	6.6	0.9
parmesan cheese	1/3	cup	grated	98.6667	10.6667	10.6667	1.3333
egg	2			143.0	0.72	12.56	9.51
oregano	1	tablespoon	chopped	7.95	2.0676	0.27	0.1284
pepper	1/4	teaspoon	ground	1.4432	0.3677	0.0597	0.0187
butter	1/4	cup		342.0	15.714	10.686	28.8
purpose flour	1/4	cup		403.4676	0.0	89.7602	2.2667
milk	1	cup		148.84	11.6632	7.686	7.9788
whipping cream	1	cup		350.4	3.552	2.6039999999999996	37.092
white pepper	1/4	teaspoon		1.776	0.4117	0.0624	0.0127
parmesan cheese	1/4	cup	grated	98.6667	10.6667	10.6667	1.3333

- Means that suitable USDA nutrition profile could not be mapped for this ingredient-unit combination.