Homemade Manicotti!

A week or so after my debut as an authentic Italian chef, I decided I would try my luck with gluten free Manicotti. I took a lot of ideas from different gluten free bloggers and cooking websites. I wanted at first to make only cheese manicotti, but was quickly informed by my boyfriend that meat must be in that manicotti. So after researching meat manicotti, plus coming up with some sort of gluten free shell, I created this masterpiece....

Homemade Gluten Free Meat and Cheese Manicotti

The Pasta
~ 1 cup Bi-Aglut flour (or other GF flour mix)
~ 3 large eggs
~ 1 1/2-2 cups water
~splash of live oil
~touch of salt

Mix ingredients together with an electrical mixer. Heat pan to medium low heat and add olive oil. Turn pan so olive oil coats the whole surface. Once pan is heated and ready add about a 1/2 cup-3/4 cup depending on how big pan is. I like to use a medium to large size skillet, although smaller skillets can be used, just reduce the amount of batter to be placed in skillet. You will want to cover the whole pan with a layer of batter. Let this cook until it appears to be almost cooked completely through. Then with a spatula carefully flipped to other side and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from skillet and set aside. Repeat this until the batter is gone. If you are pressed from time, the pasta crepes can be made the day before and placed in the refrigerator overnight or until you are ready to fill them and bake them.

The Filling
~Olive Oil
~1 lb ground beef
~1 yellow onion, chopped
~2 cloves garlic
~Salt and Pepper
~300 g ricotta cheese
~2 cups mozzarella
~1 cup parmesan cheese
~Chopped Italian Parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brown beef, onions, and garlic in pan. Remove any grease from mixture and add to large mixing bowl. Add in All other ingredients stirring until thoroughly mixed. Add a thin layer of mixture to one of the pasta crepes. Then roll the crepe up, placing the seam side down in large baking dish. Repeat this with all pasta crepes. Once all manicotti's are created and placed in dish, pour sauce over the top of the noodles. Grate thin layer of parmesan cheese over the top. Bake manicotti 30-35 minutes or until sauce bubbles around edges.

The Sauce
Any can of marinara sauce will do, however, if you want a homemade sauce follow recipe below.

~2 Cans of crushed Tomatoes
~1 clove garlic
~1/2 onion
~ dried oregano and basil to taste
~salt and pepper to taste
~teaspoon sugar
~fresh thyme, about 1-2 teaspoons

Add onions and garlic to pot, sautéing until translucent. Add crushed tomatoes and bring to boil. Add in all other ingredients simmer while you make the pasta crepes. Try the sauce after 5 minutes of simmering, then season to your liking.