Chicken Cannelloni with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This is part of my cooking for a month series...
I love roasting bell peppers. Roasted red bell pepper sauce is just amazing.... so when I found this recipe on Pinterest I had to try it. This was tasty but I think I can improve on the filling for the cannelloni and you really need two boxes of manicotti/cannelloni instead of one. I ended up making two full pans of this and doubling the sauce.

Chicken Cannelloni with Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce

1 (8-ounce) package cannelloni or manicotti shells

4 cups finely chopped cooked chicken $

2 (8-ounce) containers chive-and-onion cream cheese

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

1 cup (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese $

1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon seasoned pepper

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce

Garnish: chopped fresh basil or parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Stir together chicken and next 6 ingredients.

Cut pasta shells lengthwise through the other side. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture into each shell, gently pressing cut sides together. Place, cut sides down, in 2 lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dishes. Pour roasted red bell pepper sauce evenly over shells.

Bake, covered, at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired.

Southern Living
NOVEMBER 2002

 

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce

2 (7-ounce) jars roasted red bell peppers, drained

1 (16-ounce) jar creamy Alfredo sauce $

1 (3-ounce) package shredded Parmesan cheese

Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Bertolli Five Brothers Creamy Alfredo Sauce.

Southern Living
NOVEMBER 2002

I know these are shells, I ran out of manacotti noodles...

 My notes

I had my reservations about this one...chive and onion sour cream? Really? But I gave it a shot. It turned out well. I followed the recipe for the cannelloni but the roasted red bell pepper sauce I just had to deviate. I don't see the point of buying roasted peppers when I can do it myself. Same thing for the alfredo sauce and the pre-shredded parm. As always I used fresh spinach for the filling and I ground up 2 good sized chicken breasts and cooked with some Italian seasoning.

I can't tell you if it was kid-approved as she got herself excused from the table before she had the opportunity to taste it, but if I had to guess I would say that it would be kid-approved.

Creamy Avocado Pasta

We are leaving for Disney World this week, so we will be eating mostly left overs as I don't want to fill the fridge full of food and then leave. But I'll be back middle of next week.

I really really thought this recipe sounded good. I had an avocado, tomatoes, and pasta, I was excited. Bust. I really hate to say this but we didn't like it. I'm going so far as to say not Nichole approved. This is a first.

Creamy Avocado Pasta Sauce
makes 4 servings
recipe adapted from Oh She Glows

prep time: 10 minutes
cook time:1 hour 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS
10 - 12 small Campari tomatoes, quartered
3 - 4 tbsp olive oil
4 servings of fettuccine noodles
2 ripe avocados, seed and skin removed
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup pine nuts
grated fresh Parmesan cheese
salt and cracked black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300 ºF.

2. Wash and quarter the tomatoes. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Bake for 1 hour in the oven.

3. Ten minutes before tomatoes are finished, fill a large pot with water and a sprinkle of salt. Bring to a rapid boil. Add the dry fettuccine to the water and cook until al dente.

4. While the pasta is boiling, add 2 tbsp olive oil, avocado, garlic, salt and lemon juice to a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are smooth and creamy.

5. Strain the pasta, and combine with the sauce in a large bowl, until all the pasta has been covered.

6. Add the roasted tomatoes, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and pine nuts. Add some salt and black pepper to taste.

note: add some grilled prawns or chicken for protein. 

My Notes

I don't really have any, this was like guacamole on pasta... which in theory sounds good. But the more Jeff and I ate the more we disliked it. Bummer.

Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad

I had some leftover chicken from my stock making the other day. I didn't feel like turning on the oven for a casserole and pasta salad was sounding good. A few key strokes later I stumbled across this recipe and I actually happened to have all the ingredients except Gorgonzola which is ok b/c Jeff doesn't like Gorgonzola.

Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad
From TasteofHome

Ingredients

3 cups uncooked bow tie pasta

4 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped red onion

4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water; transfer to a large bowl. Add the chicken, tomatoes, onion, bacon and Gorgonzola cheese.

In a small bowl, whisk the oil, basil, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutritional Facts 1-1/3 cups equals 408 calories, 20 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 65 mg cholesterol, 323 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 28 g protein.

My Notes:
As I said before I didn't have any Gorgonzola, which is ok b/c Jeff doesn't like it. As I recall Gorgonzola is like blue cheese (I think) and I like blue cheese so I'm pretty sure I like Gorgonzola. Funny side note, anytime I hear Gorgonzola I think of the TV show Bones when they were trying to figure out the who Gormagon mystery and Booth kept calling him Gorgonzola and other silly names... makes me laugh to myself. Anywho, I added more bacon because I thought it could use a little more crunchy goodness and really who doesn't like bacon? I made 6 slices, the cat stole 2 (I'm not kidding) and I ate one. So then I had to cook more, which I then ate a bite or two off of each of those 3 slices. So I really couldn't tell you how much bacon when into the salad. Oh well.
The kid declared this 'delish' which I've never her heard her say before but she wrote it in a note to me. So I guess that's good. Of course there is no telling how much was actually consumed since I wasn't there. She could just be trying to toot my horn.

Creamy Jambalaya Pasta

Plain Chicken is becoming one of my favorite site to go look for recipes. I tried out this recipe a few days ago and all three of us liked it. I call this kid-approved and Jeff-approved.

Creamy Jambalaya Pasta
From Plain Chicken adapted from Steamy Kitchen

1/2 pound Farfalle pasta
1/2 lb smoked sausage, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup heavy cream (or half & half or evaporated milk)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion or 2 Tbsp minced onion flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup white wine
4 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, boil water for pasta. Salt water.  Boil pasta and cook until al dente.  Set aside.

Brown sausage in a small skillet over medium heat. Once browned, add onion and saute for two minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant.  Add white wine to skillet, making sure to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom.  Let wine reduce by half, about two minutes.
Stir in Cajun seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper and tomato sauce. Add cream and heat to almost bubbling, then reduce heat to low. Allow the cream mixture to reduce by half, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Toss with parsley and freshly grated Parmesan.

My Notes:
I doubled this recipe so we would have left-overs and I'm glad I did.... we inhaled this. I added quite a bit (prob close to 5 oz) of julienned spinach to this recipe as my family does not eat near enough vegetables. It added some color as well. The sauce was a little thin for my tastes so I also added 1T of cornstarch mixed in 1T of water to thicken it before I added the pasta.

Garlic Asparagus and Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time. It's easy to make and so tasty!

Garlic Asparagus and Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce

4 Servings

From: BH&G

8 ounces dried mafalda or rotini

1 tablespoon margarine or butter

2 cups fresh asparagus cut into 2-inch pieces

8 baby sunburst squash and/or pattypan squash, halved (4 ounces)*

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, melt margarine in a large skillet; add asparagus, squash, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to pasta.

3. Combine whipping cream and lemon peel in skillet; bring to boiling. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes or until reduced to 1/3 cup. To serve, pour cream mixture over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat. Makes 4 servings.

*Note: One medium zucchini or yellow summer squash cut into 8 pieces may be substituted for the baby sunburst squash and/or pattypan squash.

My notes

Use whatever pasta you have on hand, I'm a fan of bowtie (farfalle). For the people in my family that think unless there is meat involved it does not count as a meal I add ½ a lb of Italian sausage to the mix occasionally. I've also taken to adding mushrooms, zucchini, and some red onion for a little more color and flavor.

Cheesy Chicken Pasta

Cheesy Chicken Pasta
From EatingWell: November/December 2008

6 servings (1 1/3C) | Active time 35 min | Total time 35 min

Ingredients
8 oz whole-wheat penne
2 C 1/2 in cauliflower florets
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 C finely chopped onion
1/2 C dry white wine
3 C low-fat milk
3 T flour
3/4 t salt
1/2 t fresh ground pepper
1 C shredded gruyere or swiss cheese
3 C shredded cooked chicken (12 oz)
1 t dijon mustard
2 T chopped fresh chives or scallions

Preparation
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for 5 minutes.  Add cauliflower florets and cook until the pasta and florets are tender, about 4 minutes more.  Drain, rinse, and return to the pot.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring, until tender, 2-3 minutes.  Add wine and cook until reduced slightly, about 1 min. Whisk milk, flour, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl and add to the pan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.  Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese until smooth.  Stir chicken and mustard into the cheese sauce; cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Stir the sauce into the drained pasta and cauliflower.  Served sprinkled with chives or scallions.

Nutrition
433 calories, 13 g fat; 5 g sat; 5 g mono; 75 mg cholesterol; 42 g carbs; 34 g protein; 5 g fiber, 491 mg sodium, 483 potassium.

Tips & Notes
To poach chicken breasts, place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a medium skillet or saucepan.  Add lightly salted water to cover and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through and no longer pick in the middle, 10-12 minutes.

Notes from me!
Jeff thought this needed more seasoning. I thought it was pretty tasty, I'm thinking maybe he wanted more salt. I would not dump all the cheese in the sauce at once, slowly stir in small amounts. I also did 1/2 C gruyere and 1/2 C swiss. On a side note this dish was not appetizing to look at. See:

Yum?

So I will have to do something to make this more appealing to the eye. Maybe corn, bell pepper, carrots, spinach, mushrooms? We will have to see.