The Most Delicious Meat Stuffed Manicotti

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef

1lb ground pork

1 small onion, diced

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp salt, divided

1 tsp oregano

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

2 tbsp Italian parsley, chopped. Plus extra to garnish

1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup of water

3 cups tomato sauce, divided

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced

1 box manicotti pasta, 8 oz

1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

To begin in a skillet over medium-high heat add one pound of lean ground beef followed by one pound of ground pork go ahead and break up the meat and saute until the meat turns brown

then add in 1 medium-sized onion diced

saute the onion until it becomes translucent about two minutes

add in five cloves of garlic minced and saute until the garlic becomes fragrant about one minute

then add in one teaspoon of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

one teaspoon of oregano

a quarter of a teaspoon of cumin one teaspoon of smoked paprika half a cup of red bell pepper diced

half a cup of green bell pepper diced as well 2 tablespoons of fresh Italian parsley

now go ahead and incorporate the spices and the vegetables in

then add in 1 cup of water

1 tablespoon of tomato paste followed by one cup of tomato sauce

now reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes

and after simmering for 30 minutes most of the liquid should have evaporated and to finish it off add in one tablespoon of fresh basil

at this point, you may taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking

the ground meat is done now let's work on the manicotti now over high heat in a large pot of hot boiling water add in 1 teaspoon of salt

about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil this will prevent the pasta from sticking to each other we are using one box of money cutty pasta we're going to boil it as directed on the package for nine minutes

and after nine minutes go ahead and drain the pasta

then place it on a cooling rack and let it sit for a few minutes before moving on to the next step

preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. after the pasta has cooled down in a 9x13 baking dish spread out one cup of tomato

sauce

then on top of the sauce spread out one thin layer of the ground meat

then with a teaspoon stuff each manicotti with the meat very gently

then transfer them onto the baking dish but I'm sure you already knew that right I would hope

now we are using one cup of tomato sauce on top

and one cup of freshly grated mozzarella cheese

now place it in the center of your 400-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until all the cheese has melted and if everything goes according to plan your meat manicure should look like this

You may garnish with fresh Italian parsley.

Enjoy, buen provecho!