-
1
Preheat the oven to 400F.
-
2
Sauce first
-
3
Follow the instructions on the sausage link package to cook the links, or...
-
4
Put the Italian sausage links in a small glass baking dish, and add water until the sausages are about half covered.
-
5
Stick them in the pre-heated oven.
-
6
Youll want to check on them from time to time while youre making the sauce.
-
7
When the tops have browned a bit, turn them over and let the other side brown.
-
8
They should be done when all the water has evaporated.
-
9
Boil some water and cook the manicotti shells as directed on the package.
-
10
You want them slightly undercooked.
-
11
(skip this part if youre using entirely store bought sauce or your own sauce recipe)
-
12
In a skillet, heat a little olive oil, about a tablespoon.
-
13
Saute the onions and garlic until just soft.
-
14
Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until the mushrooms are cooked through.
-
15
Transfer this to a large saucepan, and add the pasta sauce.
-
16
Add basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste (and any other spices you feel like throwing in... but make sure you taste it as you go!)
-
17
(stop skipping here) Bring the sauce up to a boil, stirring frequently.
-
18
Reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer while youre stuffing the shells.
-
19
When the sausage links are cooked, slice them into bitesize pieces and dump them in the sauce.
-
20
Filling next
-
21
In a large bowl, combine all the filling ingredients.
-
22
Its easiest to just mash it all up with your hands instead of trying to mix it with a utensil.
-
23
Easy!
-
24
Putting it all together
-
25
Drain and dry off your manicotti shells.
-
26
You dont want them to stick together while youre filling the others, so spread them out on a paper towel.
-
27
Extract about 1 cup of sauce from your saucepan.
-
28
By extract, I mean try to get a cup of sauce without sausage or mushrooms.
-
29
Spread the extracted sauce on the bottom of a 13x9x2 glass baking dish.
-
30
Carefully fill the pasta shells with the cheese mixture.
-
31
If you break one, you can use the cheese as glue!
-
32
It is easiest to use your hands for this, but if you are a wuss, you can also use a spoon.
-
33
Place the shells on top of the sauce layer in the baking dish.
-
34
You will probably have some cheese mixture left over, and this is ok!
-
35
After the shells are filled, cover them with the remaining sauce, and all the chunky goodness it contains.
-
36
Spread the remaining cheese mixture over the top of the sauce.
-
37
Top with more Parmesan if you like.
-
38
Cover the dish with foil and stick it in the oven.
-
39
(If your baking dish is pretty full, you may want to put it on a cookie sheet to keep your oven from getting messy.)
-
40
Bake for 40 minutes, until hot and bubbly.
-
41
Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until the cheesy topping is thoroughly melty.
-
42
Serve with your favorite garlic bread.
