mini manicotti

or stuffed rigattoni







*rigattoni noddles
*less than 250g raw hamburger (usually the smallest pkg you can buy is 500g/1 lb so use less than half) I've used 1/2 pork and 1/2 hamburger and that's good too, even ground chicken works
*diced onion (small dice)
*3+ cans Heinz tomato soup (i've tried other brands other combinations but nothing tastes as good as heinz, you can try pasta sauces, campells tomato, basil & oregano, or campbells fiesta tomato, etc but DO NOT use campbells or no name brands tomato soup, they really really suck)
*lea & perrins
*balsamic
*celery salt
*cottage cheese
*garlic



drain liquid from cottage cheese while doing other prep ( this is important step)
you can also use a small amount of really really dry thawed out spinach chopped up but this is not necessary



I use a wok for this because of its depth, it's easier to plunge the noodles into the mixture. If you don't have a wok just use a smaller pan with high sides.
Sweat the onions and garlic, if using extra lean or chicken you will have to add oil otherwise the meat won't brown nice. I usually throw the meat in and brown everything up together at the same time



this is where you add the balsamic, lea and perrins and celery salt and whatever spice you want to add. you MUST brown the meat until no liquid is left in pan though, don't be tempted to just cook the hamburger and then drain it. And then keep browning until the meat actually pops, it should be very very brown, but not burned. Otherwise it just doesn't taste as good as it could. In fact that is one of my pet peeves, people just don't brown hamburger as long as they should. It's an important step in the flavouring. And it smells awful if not browned properly. That's probably one of the reason that I hate eating anything with hamburger in it that someone else cooks.



take the pan off burner and cool slightly, i usually stir it around alot. then add the very dry *cottage cheese curds, *1 can tomato soup, *parsley and about *1/3 - 1/4cup bread crumps, s0rry forgot to mention bread crumbs, i've used panko here only because i had some, otherwise I usually put in the ends of the loaf into the food processor and just use those. don't add too much that the mixture is really dry, it should not be really soupy either. just remember this mixture should be able to get put into the noodles



mix it all up till blended



dump 1 can of tomato soup into the roasting pan remember to grease it up or you will be sorry when you can't get the stuff out. this is non-stick and I still use a little bit of oil on it.



smear it around, remember the bottom of noodle gets cooked with this mixture, so if your using a combination of other stuff, instead of straight out of the can, get enough on the pan for this. Actually after I cooked this up I realized I should have added more under the noodles. The pan should not be visible. I should have added about another 1/2 can or some stock or just water would have done, because it was kinda dry on the bottom after I made them. Use your judgement you don't want them to burn on the bottom trust me that really sucks after you do all this work for them to be uncooked or burned on the bottom



get your noodles ready, because your hands will be all gucky so dump them out of container or bag



plunge the noodles into mixture until full



repeat, it doesn't take long plunging faster is better, 3 to 4 times per noodle usually is all it takes, and if you have little ones around get them to help they enjoy helping out. There are times I had all 3 kids plunging noodles into filling and it doesn't take as long as you might think. They enjoy filling the pan as well.They can personalize the topping later. Often one put parmesan, the other just grated cheddar and the other one who likes mushrooms put on chopped mushrooms after I fried some up for him. Mushrooms.....that's a way to ruin a good thing in my estimation. But my son likes them. Put this personalized topping on after the tomato soup topping. You can fancy it up with parsley or chives. When I had all three teenagers for those 4 years I was lucky to have a basement suite (no tenants - just extra kitchen) I made a 2nd using the oven downstairs. Because they became territorial after their toppings went on. A couple times if there wasn't too much filling left over, i would just spread the remaining mixture over the top after the tomato soup was put on. Use your imagination.



it should look like this



ooops forgot about the parmesan cheese, add some any amount you want, actually any cheese will do, I've used swiss, and many combinations of whatever odds and ends I had of hard cheeses



fill up the pan really fill in anywhere you can, but don't overfill the pan



smear the last can onto the top



i bet you thought you didn't have enough mixture, well forgetaboutit, you will have more than you need, it always works out that way i always have extra ALWAYS. I have bags in the freezer of extra mixture that I never remember I have until I throw in the current bag. If you have more cans of soup or want to try with other tomato stuff like just canned tomatoes - pulverized with an imertion blender, or any other combinations of liquid, here's your change to improve on it - in another smaller pan of sorts, but you should do this afterwards, because main roasting pan has to go in the middle of the oven and the extra one will not get the right space to cook. believe me when I say WAIT and make this second one later - you will thank me because it never turns out if the other one is on a different rack. so don't waste your time and creativity at this time



cover with foil or lid of your roaster has a lid, i've used a large turkey roaster for this for a larger amount with it's own lid and it works just fine. Just don't double up the layers because THAT WILL NOT WORK, been there - tried that- doesn't work , will be too dried out or toooo liquidy DOES NOT WORK - only one layer per pan



put it into oven at 325 - 350 (my oven is hot, yours is probably ok at 350) after 40 min open the foil carefully because the steam will burn you. and test the noodle with a fork or knife, put it in slowly, you will know when it is not done. If it's not done take it out every 10 min after that and test it. It should look dry and shinny and no visible liquid at all.It usually takes an hour. but start checking at 40 min- it's never the same twice. If you think it's ready take out of oven and let rest, covered, for about 10 min.



enjoy and let me know how it turned out







mmm goooood




















i usually cut the noodles in half for my grandchildren so they can get one in there mouths at a time, but they like to poke there fingers into each one. It's messy










what little is left is wonderful the next day cold, great for snacks or lunches or for kids en route to soccer, hockey, ball, swimming - you name it. They will be fought over I guarantee it. You can use hot sauce for dipping them also. Great finger food.