Reviewed: Aug. 20, 2008

I was expecting it to be much better based on the reviews. While not awful, there are far better manicotti recipes out there. The filling needed more flavor, the sauce was ok.

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kcj

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Aug. 20, 2008

This recipe is awesome and it didn't take nearly as long as the recipe states. I used jumbo shells and fresh spinach because that's all I had. I just mixed in the fresh spinach with the ricotta (uncooked). I also sprinkled parm. cheese over the top before baking. I'll make this for company - it looks really impressive and will feed a lot of people. Thanks for the recipe - I LOVED IT!

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CATBIRD45

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Aug. 14, 2008

This was great! I used 1/2 of ground beef and 1/2 of sausage. It was somewhat time consuming but it is worth it. Manicotti is my BF favorite and i made it for his birthday. He loved it!

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Valda

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Reviewed: Aug. 8, 2008

Good recipe. I do agree with other reviewers that say the white sauce is unnecessary. I wasn't able to taste it. I did find this a bit bland although I did add some extra spices. I realize everyone has different taste - guess I'm just more of a spicy girl :)

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Care

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Aug. 2, 2008

I thought it was good, but I do think the white sauce was an extra step that was not entirely needed. Next time, I will add some sausage, as some reviewers mentioned, because the filling lacked a little something.

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SCARLETT1211

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Woonsocket, Rhode Island, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 31, 2008

Like this recipe. It takes some time but worth it. I did use half ground beef and half hot Italian sausage.

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berrybethany

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Reviewed: Jul. 26, 2008

this came out extremely salty... if i make it again, i wouldn't add any salt, and i'd cut way back on the boullion. i was disappointed.

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jill

Cooking Level: Beginning

Living In: Cumbola, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 23, 2008

Way tooooo salty!!! Three times too much at least. It says 1 tablespoon salt in the filling, plus says to add 1 tablespoon of boullion to the white sauce. Whew! Maybe 1 teaspoon salt in the filling and leave out the boullion.

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eddybprice

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Living In: Houston, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 21, 2008

i made this exactly how stated. i was expecting more. don't get me wrong it was very good, but i don't know if it is worth the extra effort making the white sauce? i loved the meat/spinach/cheese mixture, but next time i think i will just stick with red sauce and top with mozzarella. the white sauce was good, so if i am in the mood for white sauce this would be good all by itself. i just don't feel by mixing the white and red together did the white justice for the extra work.

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Dora

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Reviewed: Jul. 21, 2008

This recipes is awesome!! I'm not one to post reviews, but I had to for this recipe! I made it almost exactly as stated except for a few modifications. I added extra garlic and used ground chicken instead of the beef or sausage as others had used/suggested. I also didn't have chicken bouillon so instead I just added a bit of grated parmesan and salt to the white sauce. I used dried basil instead of fresh basil. This was a great recipe, thanks a lot!!

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TMSARDHAR

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Reviewed: Jul. 16, 2008

This is great! I did, however, change things up a bit. I used 1 pound Italian sausage in place of the ground beef, 2 1/2 cups of cottage cheese in place of the ricotta, and sprinkled shredded mozzerella cheese on top before popping it in the oven. Then once the 40 minutes was up, I uncovered it and sprinlkled the parmesan over top before putting it back in. Yummy!

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Natalie

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jul. 6, 2008

Gorgeous! I was unable to find Manicotti shells here in Australia so I used a jumbo shell instead and this worked fine. Not a great fan of beef mince so I used pork and was really happy with the result. Might try pork and Italian sausage next time and see how that turns out. Loved the white sauce although I did worry about the calorie content just a little...... Not to worry that is what we pound the pavement for! It did take time but with a glass of wine and some good music in the background I did not feel it dragged on to much. My daughter helped me stuff the shells which was fun. Impress your family and friends with this fabulous dish!

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Karina

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Reviewed: Jul. 3, 2008

This dish is great! I will be cooking this again and again!

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PEACHES4LIFE1982

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Reviewed: Jun. 28, 2008

Fantastic! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out a hit. I will make this again.

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lilyandscout

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Reviewed: Jun. 24, 2008

I was told that this has become my signature dish and that I must now make it for my boyfriends entire family at Thanksgiving!! The only change I made was using hot italian sausage instead of hamburger.Excellent!

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red4you

Living In: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 24, 2008

My husband and I really liked this recipe, and he gives it 5 stars, but I give it a 4, simply because I didn't think that the white sauce added anything to the dish. It wasn't that the sauce was bad, it was very good in fact, but I personally feel that the dish would've been just as good without it. That being said, I will probably make it as is again, because my husband really did like the white sauce in it!

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BLUEBERRYJILLY

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Vienna, West Virginia, USA

Living In: Fort Drum, New York, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 17, 2008

Outstanding - you must try this one! I used sausage instead of the beef - but other than that followed the directions exactly. The white sauce was so delicious I would have it ate it like soup if I didn't have any self control! I don't know why everyone complains about it taking so long - that's the fun part to me!

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CookBrooke

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Greensburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Winston Salem, North Carolina, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 11, 2008

Amazing. It was time consuming but worth it - every once in a while. I followed other's advice and used Italian Sausage in place of ground beef. YUM! I also made ½ the manicotti spinach free for the non-green compatible in my family. Used Prego mushroom spaghetti sauce and it was pre-seasoned so I ditched the basil at the end as over kill. I used heavy whipping cream for the cream sauce because that is what was in the frig. Not sure what this did to the taste, and trying not to think what it did to the calorie count. I did add ¼ t dried basil to the cream sauce and it seemed to have bit more flavor. Rave reviews all around.

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ANGEL.9

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Dallas, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 8, 2008

FABULOUS! And though a teeny bit time-consuming it was actually a lot of fun to put together...I used 1/2 lb. ground beef and 1/2 lb. Italian sausage, cooked the spinach in the meat mixture toward the end of the meat's cooking time and then used cottage cheese instead of ricotta (personal preference and I'm part Italian!). Rolled mixture into the "Manicotti Shells" recipe from this site (which are actually Cannelloni shells thus making Cannelloni rather than Manicotti but it was still fabulous) and continued the rest of the recipe. Absolutely perfect, my husband is convinced I am a goddess in the kitchen! Thank you SO much for sharing this!!!

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christina b

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Spring Valley, California, USA

Living In: El Cajon, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 2, 2008

Way beyond my expectations! I made this tonight without the meat as we have vegetarians and meat-eaters in the house. I did not want to add the eggs but was unsure how it would turn out without them. I did not add salt and I'm glad I didn't because the salt level was perfect as is. I added some mozzerella, fresh ground pepper, fresh basil, and dried oregano to spinach/cheese mixture. I also did not cook the spinach first and I added a little nutmeg to the white sauce. I will invest in a pastry bag for next time as I used a freezer bag with one corner cut off, but it was really messy and difficult. I think the hole was too big. My box of manicotti came with 14 shells...I'm not sure how other people fit all 14 into the 9x13 dish. I only got in 8 but that was perfect to feed 3 of us. Everyone had 2 plates! Super delish! Will make again, may try with the meat although I don't believe its necessary.

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