My favorite (and the favorite of my family) is a bit out of the ordinary, as most manicotti recipies I have seen are some combinations of cheese to fill the pasta, covered by a sauce.
Here's how we like 'em:
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 lb. sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
1/4 lb. Muenster, or Mozarella, grated
2 cups cottage cheese
1 large Onion, diced
14 oz. tomato sauce
6 oz. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried Oregano
1/4 tsp. dried Sweet Basil
1/8 tsp. Garlic Powder, or three fresh cloves, minced
1/8 tsp. Thyme
1/8 tsp. Ground Rosemary
1 tsp. Sugar
1 pkg. Manocotti Noodles
2 tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Heat the oilive oil in a large sauce pan. Add the onion and garlic and sweat them. Add the ground beef and brown. Add everything else but the cheese and noodles. Cover and let simmer.
Bring 1 quart of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt. Add the noodles and cook until softened, about eight minutes. Remove from heat and rinse under cold water until cool to the touch. Remove the sauce from the heat and slowly stir in the cheddar and mozzarella until combined and smooth. Fill a piping bag with the sauce. Don't have a tip in the hole. Use the piping bag (or a cookie press if you have one, again without a tip) to fill the shells with the sauce/cheese/meat mixture. Put enough sauce into the bottom of a 9 X 11 rectangular cake pan, being careful to put only sauce down. Lay the manicotti shells in the pan until full. Top with remaining sauce, and evenly spaced dollops of cottage cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes. Serve with ripe, black olives, and a tossed salad. Jello is good with this meal as well. It adds a wonderfully sweet contrast.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North