How to Make a Delicious Ground Turkey Manicotti Recipe at Home

Let me start by saying that manicotti is the worst to stuff! Initially, I was searching for pasta shells that I could stuff, but the commissary on base didn't have anything except manicotti. I probably could have gone to a grocery store in town, but I was already on base and in a time crunch, so I got the manicotti.

I will say that while manicotti is delicious and still as aesthetically pleasing as a stuffed pasta shell, it was a messy task. I tried to use a baking pipe bag and a ziplock bag and to no avail! Juices from the ground turkey mixture kept spilling out and it was ultimately easier for me to use a small spoon and carefully spoon the filling into the manicotti. If you have any tips or tricks, please let me know in the comments!

I don't want to bore you with more boring details before getting to the real reason you're here: the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey (minced turkey as they call it here in the UK)

• manicotti

• 1 large handful of spinach (fresh or frozen is fine)

• 1/2 small onion, diced

• 3 cloves garlic

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 8 oz container of cottage cheese (trust the process)

• shredded cheese of choice

• tomato/pasta sauce

• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

• olive oil

Directions:

1. Salt a large pot of water and boil manicotti per directions on the box. Set aside to stuff later when al dente.

2. Dice onion, garlic and mushrooms. Set aside a small bowl of the seasonings and set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add diced onion and mushrooms to sauté for about 5 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt to draw the water out of the onions.

4. Once onion and mushrooms are cooked, add ground turkey to the pan and cook until no longer pink, about 7 minutes.

5. Add 1 - 2 large handfuls of spinach to the browned meat and cook down. Once spinach is cooked, add in seasonings and mix well to combine.

6. Remove ground turkey from heat and place contents into a large bowl. Add cottage cheese to the ground turkey and mix well to incorporate.

7. To a 9x13 baking dish, pour some of your pasta sauce across the bottom in a thin layer. Take one of your cooked manicotti and begin spooning the cottage cheese/ground turkey mixture into the pasta.

8. Once all manicotti have been stuffed, pour the remaining tomato/pasta sauce on top of pasta, evenly coating. I ended up adding a little water to my jar and shaking it to mix with the remaining pasta sauce and using it to fully cover all the manicotti.

9. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of manicotti and place into the oven for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned.

10. Take out of the oven and enjoy!