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.

Hot Corn Dip

Good grief this stuff is pretty awesome! Of course I found it on pinterest and promptly posted to my Food! board to be forgotten like a lot of the recipes on there. I'm glad I tried it, Jeff and I ate half the dish by ourselves right out of the oven.

Hot Corn Dip

From: GinaMariesKitchen.com

2 cups shredded chedder cheese

1 cup shredded Montery Jack

2 tbs chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced small

1 small can (4oz) diced green chilies, undrained

1/2 cup Mayo

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 11oz can of corn, drained

1 small tomato

2 tbs cilantro, chopped

2 tbs green onions, sliced thin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the cheeses, chipotle and green peppers, mayo, garlic powder and corn together. Pour into an oven safe dish.

Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly

Top with diced tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

My notes:

I had everything on hand to make this except the diced chilies, but I don't think it makes a huge difference. I put 1 whole chipotle pepper diced up real small. I have made this twice and plan on making it for the 4th as well. Everyone who has tried it has really liked it. It's pretty awesome. Jeff thinks bacon would go well on top and I agree, so I may try that next time and I'm going to double the recipe.

Roasted Pepper- Corn Pasta Salad

I had to bring a pasta salad to a dinner we were having with Jeff's family a few weeks ago so I hopped on pinterest and looked through my Food! board. Found this recipe and decided to give it a try. My Uncle was commenting the other day about how he likes to test a recipe before he takes it somewhere or serves it at a gathering. I found myself nodding in agreement but then I stopped and thought about it. I must have brass cooking balls.... forgive the vulgarities. Lately everything I have taken to a gathering has NOT been tested including this recipe. I guess it just never occurred to me that things could go wrong.... which knowing myself is a bad assumption. But my luck held out and this turned out to be a hit!

Roasted Pepper - Corn Pasta Salad
From Womenshealthmag.com

8 ounces orrechiette pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup corn kernels

1 roasted pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 Hass avocado, chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain.

2.Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the corn and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onion begins to brown. Add the roasted pepper and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl.

3.Add the pasta, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and black pepper to the bowl and toss gently but thoroughly.

 

My notes

I didn't change a thing, I think (I may have added cumin and chili pepper). I did roast the pepper myself instead of buying a jar. I think next time I will roast my corn and maybe roast a jalapeno to add to the mix. 

Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells

 Yet another pinterest find for me from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Chicken and Spinach Stuffed Shells

1 (12-ounce) box uncooked jumbo pasta shells (if all of yours survive the boil this is enough, to be safe you may want 1 1/2 boxes)

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 cups fresh chopped spinach

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese

2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened (I think you could get away with one package)

1 (5oz) package shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1 2/3 cups)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (26oz) jar prepared spaghetti sauce (this was just enough. If you like it saucier use more)

1. Cook shells according to package directions. Be careful not to overcook them or they will tear easily when trying to fill them. Drain and set shells out individually on a cutting board or baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

2. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease two 9x13 baking dishes.

3. In a large bowl, combine chicken and all the rest of the ingredients except mozzarella and spaghetti sauce. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella. Spoon into shells. *Tip: For easier filling, fill a gallon ziplock baggie with the filling and snip a quarter size hole off the corner of the bag. Then you can just pipe the filling into the shells.

4. Spread half of spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dishes. Arrange shells over sauce; top with remaining sauce. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. If you are freezing one of the 9x13 prepared pans, freeze it after this step. Include a baggy of the remaining mozzarella for when you cook it.

5. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes.

Makes 8-10 servings.
Source: posted by Sisters Cafe; original recipe by Paula Deen

They look like a hot mess but these two are the all that was left...

My Notes:

I deviated from this recipe only because my iPad kept locking itself and I tired of typing in my password so I tried to do it from memory. Oops.

I only used one package of cream cheese and my ricotta was moldy (crap) so I threw some swiss cheese in the mixture to add some more cheesy-ness. I also forgot parsley but I'm ok with that.

9 WW pts on Points Plus