The BEST Marinara Sauce

As I am making a double batch right now I just can't help but post this recipe. It's just TOO good not to. It's zesty, which I love.

Marinara Sauce for Pasta (Katie B from Hershey Ward))

½ cup olive oil
1 medium onion
1 small carrot
large handful of fresh parsley or 2-3 Tbsp. dry parsley
3 to 5 cloves of garlic – crushed or finely chopped
1 large can crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried Basil
1 16 oz. tomato sauce
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
3 tsp. capers
1 tsp. sugar
½ cup to ¾ cup of water (used to rinse out tomato sauce cans)
½ to ¾ cup chicken broth

Finely chop onion, carrot, parsley and garlic by hand or in food processor. Sauté chopped ingredients as well as basil and oregano in heated olive oil until somewhat soft. Add rest of ingredients. Simmer very slowly for 1 ½ to 3 hours. Serve over the pasta of your choice with freshly grated (not canned) Parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese.
For a change of pace, you may add mushrooms, ground beef, ground Italian sausage, shrimp, etc. I always add lots of ground beef and/or sausage!!

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

This recipe is in my top 3. It is pure deliciousness. It’s so good, you just sit there and savor. SAVOR people. The first time I made this it seemed a bit time consuming, so naturally I was ticked and swore I would never make it again. But once I tasted it, it was worth it – and now it goes pretty fast. It is a Giada recipe care of Danielle. Huge plus: the manicotti freezes well.

- 1/2 pound ground beef (I use turkey)

- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (from one onion)

- 1 (15 oz) container whole-milk ricotta cheese

- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

- 3 teaspoons olive oil

- 12 pieces of manicotti pasta (from one 8 oz box)

- 1 1/2 cups Marinara Sauce (I just use plain canned tomato sauce)

Heat a medium size skillet over medium. Add ground beef and onion and saute until meat browns and onion is translucent (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir in the meat mixture and set aside.

Brush 1 teaspoon olive oil over large baking sheet. Bring large pot of salted water to boil and cook manicotti until softened, about 6 minutes. Transfer manicotti to baking sheet and cool.

Preheat oven to 350. Brush remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over 13x9x2 glass baking dish. Spoon 1/2 cup marinara sauce over bottom of prepared dish. Fill manicotti with cheese-meat mixture. (I put the filling in a ziplock and cut the corner to fill the manicotti.) Arrange filled pastas in a single layer in dish. Spoon remaining cup of sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and then the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese over the manicotti.

Bake uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the bottom of the dish, about 35 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve.