Pyrex-Surprise Manicotti - Hottest Culinary Couple in America

Nick and I were voted as "America's Hottest Culinary Couple" and therefore we got to travel to NYC to compete for the title and we had the opportunity to cook for the fabulous Gilles Marini, star of "Brothers and Sister's" as well as being extremely memorable in "Sex and the City" and who can forget "dancing with the stars" but none the less, we were able to cook for Gilles and we had a fabulous time. Below you'll find the delectable recipe we made and try it, it's awesome.

Ingredients:
For the Manicotti

- 6 manicotti
- 1 package shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 chicken breast
- 1/2 cup chick stock

For the Sauce:

- 2 cans PLAIN tomato sauce
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 5 garlic cloves
- oregano
- basil
- salt
- pepper
- crushed red pepper
- sugar
- olive oil
- Parmesan cheese

To Make:

Boil a med pot with water and boil the manicotti for 8 min. Salt the water. In the meantime, begin dicing the carrot, celery, onion and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil and saute, stirring frequently on med. heat.

To start the sauce, dice the remaining half an onion, red pepper and garlic and saute in 3 tbs. of olive oil until tender, about 6-7 min and then add the plain tomato sauce and stir immediately, turning to med. heat. Add some Parmesan cheese and a teaspoon of the following, basil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and oregano. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar.


In a small pan, drizzle olive oil and season the chicken breast with the following, salt, pepper, oregano, Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper. Cover and saute for 5 min on each side, adding a tablespoon of chicken broth. Remove chicken from stove, dice in cubes and add into the celery and carrot mixture.

Add Parmesan cheese into the carrot mixture and the chicken stock and stir cooking on high heat for another 3-4 min.

Drain the pasta and run water on for 1 second before setting aside.

Continue mixing the sauce to avoid sticking.

Pour carrot and celery mixture into a large bowl and add mozzarella cheese, mixing thoroughly. Add some salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste.

In a large glass dish, spread sauce into the bottom and begin stuffing the manicotti gently with a fork. Arrange neatly into the glass dish and top with sauce.

Bake on 375 for 5 min, if desired, it's not necessary.

Serve and ENJOY!!!