August 2010 • A Sweet Pea Chef

I was looking for a new recipe and happened to stumble upon For the Love of Cooking and Pam's Turkey Italian Sausage and Mushroom Stuffed Manicotti. As I've mentioned before, I love me some Italian food so I'm always happy for great new recipes to add to my collection. Really, can you go wrong with ricotta cheese, fresh basil, homemade tomato sauce and some noodles? Pretty much, that's a no. Plus, I love the addition of freshly grated nutmeg and parsley because it adds a great depth of flavor to the homemade sausage stuffed manicotti. As delicious as homemade manicotti is, I've never been very good at the stuffing part. Even with perfectly al dente shells, I still seem to butcher it. *sad face* I used a Ziploc bag and cut the corner for these little guys, which worked pretty well. Still, I may or may not have gotten stuffing all over my hands, the plate and some on the table. And, yes, it was totally worth it! ASPC on Instagram If you give this recipe a try, let me know what you think by leaving a comment and rating it. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #asweetpeachef on Instagram! I LOVE seeing what you come up with. Enjoy! Mushroom and Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti Delicious and easy homemade Mushroom and Italian Sausage Stuffed Manicotti. Definitely a great Italian comfort food recipe. 1 tsp olive oil3 links Italian sausage (casings removed)1/2 sweet yellow onion (diced)8 oz cremini mushrooms (chopped)4-5 cloves garlic (minced)1/2 tsp dried oreganokosher salt and freshly cracked pepper (to taste)15 oz Ricotta cheeseDash of fresh nutmeg (grated)2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)5-6 fresh basil leaves (julienned, divided)4 tbsp Parmesan cheese (divided)1 box Manicotti shells (cooked al dente)3 cups of tomato sauce (try my homemade tomato sauce)1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (divided) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Coat a large baking dish with olive oil and pour 1 cup of marinara to coat entire baking dish.Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the sausage. Cook for 4-5 minutes, crumbling the sausage with a spatula.Add the onions and mushrooms then continue to cook for 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Once the meat is cooked through, crumbled and well-browned and the onions are tender, add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool.Cook the manicotti noodles per instructions and set aside to cool. Make sure to leave noodles al dente as they will cook more in the oven and will be easier to stuff if more firm.In a large bowl, add the cooled meat mixture, ricotta cheese, grated nutmeg, parsley, basil, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and mix thoroughly. Place the mixture into a large Ziploc bag and cut a hole in the corner of the bag. Pipe the filling into each manicotti shell (I pipe a bit into each side) then place into the baking dish. Continue process until you are out of filling and shells. Pour the remaining marinara sauce on top of the manicotti then top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.Cover the baking dish with a piece of tin foil and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Remove tin foil and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 7-10 minutes.Top with julienned basil and serve.