This is my all time favourite Cannelloni recipe courtesy of Lroi on the Cooking Forum. It is so good! If you have never made crepes don't be put off by them, they really are very easy and take the dish to a whole new level.

There is a wonderful picture of them on this link. The post is my Maryel 5 and is posted Mar 4 at 23.03

Here is a link that might be useful: Lori's Cannelloni

Thanks. I knew I saw it somewhere. Will try.

Not sure just what the difference is between cannelloni and manicolli but this recipe of Marilyn's is delicious:

Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: Pasta

Molto Manicotti
===============
4 ounces left-over cooked chicken breast, diced
4 ounces bulk Italian sausage
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper sliced 1-inch long
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
(May use 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning in place of thyme, oregano and basil.)
8 sheets Barilla flat lasagna sheets (no boil kind)
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded provolone cheese
1/2 cup shredded jack cheese
(May replace provolone and jack cheese with fontina)
1 egg
2 scallions (green onions) sliced with green
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups whole milk (or 2%)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 slices American cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
(May replace American with mozzarella (can be fresh).)
2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half (or any kind)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons capers along with a little of the juice (optional)
. Preheat oven to 350, spray a medium casserole dish with Pam and lay a
large sheet of waxed paper on the counter. Put a large pot of water on
to boil.

Sauté sausage in a medium skillet until browned, add mushroom, bell
pepper, garlic and herbs; cook until vegetables are soft, fold in
chicken to heat; remove from heat to cool slightly.

When water comes to a full boil, add salt and lasagna sheets; cook just
until sheets become pliable, about 4 minutes; drain and rinse.
Immediately lay sheet on waxed paper in a single layer. Meanwhile
combine ricotta, parmesan, provolone and jack cheeses along with egg
and scallions; fold in sausage mixture. Place about 1/4 cup filling at
the short end of each lasagna sheet (dividing evenly among all sheets);
shape filling into a rough cylinder and carefully roll up snugly in the
sheets to make 4-inch long filled manicotti. Leave these on the waxed
paper in a single layer and wrap in the excess waxed paper.

Now, make the Béchamel (which is just a white sauce): Melt butter in a
medium pan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook for 1
minute. Whisk in milk gradually then increase the heat a little. Bring
mixture to a boil while stirring constantly until sauce boils and
thickens; remove from heat and add salt, pepper and cayenne.

Place about 2/3 cup of the Béchamel in the bottom of prepared baking
dish. Lay stuffed manicotti in a single layer over sauce then pour all
but 1 cup of the sauce over the manicotti. Evenly lay American cheese
slices over all then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese (and dried parsley
if desired). Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes until golden and
bubbly. Let stand at 5 minutes before serving.

Combine fresh tomatoes, sliced or torn fresh basil and capers. Top each
serving of manicotti with some of the reserved Béchamel and spoon
tomato mixture over all

(*Original recipe was from Cuisine at Home magazine, my changes are as
written.

Marilyn)

OOOH Lori's is the best. Everyone who has made it has raved about it. Very popular!!

CANNELLONI STUFFED WITH SPINACH AND RICOTTA
Submitted by LoriJean44 (Lori)
CREPES:

6 eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 - cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2H cups water
Combine all ingredients in medium bowl with electric mixer.
Let stand 1/2 hour or longer. Slowly heat 8-inch crepe pan/non-stick skillet.
Ladle about 1/4 cup batter into pan, swirling to cover bottom of pan, and
cook until top is dry but bottom is not browned.
Stack between waxed paper as they cool

.
FILLING:
2 pounds spinach, cooked and well-drained, finely chopped
1 1/4 cup ricotta
2 egg yolks
3/4 cups fresh grated Parmesan
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
. In mixing bowl, combine spinach, ricotta, egg yolks,1/4 cup Parmesan,
nutmeg, salt and pepper. Blend well with fork.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 8 x 12 inch ovenproof dish with the
butter.
Spread spinach mixture onto crepes and roll up. Arrange crepes, seam
side down
in a single layer in prepared dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup
Parmesan
and pour the cream evenly over top.
Bake until top begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes.

Ann thanks for posting the recipe, I had it "cut" but forgot to "paste" LOL

Cookie, one change I make to the recipe is to use a package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained instead of the fresh.

Diane, I have decided that there isn't a serious difference in the two. I used to think one was meat and one was cheese and then I thought it was whether you used crepes or dry pasta tubes. Then somewhere I read cannelloni is a smooth pasta tube or crepe usually served with a bechamel sauce; manicotti shells have ridges and are usually served with a tomato sauce.

So as far as I'm concerned the difference ain't worth worrying about....LOL

I thought the difference was meat vs. cheese filling too. Then I thought it was the ridges, but recently I read that Manicotti was roled on the diagonal and cannelloni just rolled straight. I'm not sure anyone really knows what the difference is, or if there even is one. One of my other favorites is stuffed shells.

I would never say one is best, they are just different.
Cookie, here is a picture of the one we like that Diane posted above with the pasta rolled. These were fun and easy to make:

{{gwi:2045135}}

Marilyn

I agree they are just different. When I want a meat filling I use Marilyn's recipe from Cuisine at Home except I use ground beef or veal instead of sausage and I often make the crepes instead of using noodles. I also sometimes do a tomato sauce instead of a bechamel.

Good recipe.

Oddly enough, my favorite recipe for them has a tomato sauce with a bechamel sauce on top...so you get the best of both worlds! And, it has meat "and" spinach in it too...yum. yum. I'm getting so hungry reading this post.