Chicken Cannelloni With Cheese Sauce

* Exported from MasterCook *

CHICKEN CANNELLONI WITH CHEESE SAUCE

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Pasta

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 3/4 c Chicken, cooked & diced
1 lb Lasagna Noodles
2 tb Butter or Margarine
2 tb Olive oil
2 Cloves Garlic, finely
-chopped
1 sm Onion, finely chopped
4 oz Mushrooms, chopped
1 lg Egg, beaten
2 tb Heavy Cream or Half-and-Half
1/4 ts Thyme
1/2 ts Salt
1 bn Spinach, cooked until
-----CHEESE SAUCE-----
3 tb Butter or Margarine
4 tb Flour
1 1/2 c Chicken Broth
3 c Half-and-Half
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 c Parmesan Cheese
1/2 c (to 1 cup) Mozzarella
-Cheese, grated (opt)
Spaghetti Sauce (homemade
-or store bought) (opt)

THE NIGHT BEFORE (or early in the day): Cook lasagna
noodles in 6 qts. boiling water for 5-7 minutes or
until tender; drain, wipe noodles dry with a clean/dry
cloth, lay flat on waxed paper.

While noodles are cooking, melt butter and olive oil
in a large skillet. Saute onion, garlic and mushrooms
until they're tender; add remove from heat; set aside.

Place cooked chicken in food processor and pulse until
chicken resembles a tuna salad mixture. Combine
chicken with the onions, garlic, mushrooms and the fat
in which they were sauteed; add egg, cream and
seasonings. Add spinach (cooked) and mix well.

Cut each lasagna noodle into 2 or 3 pieces--each piece
should be 3 to 4 inches long; place a tablespoonful of
the chicken filling on each piece and roll into a
tubular shape. If you don't want to make canneloni,
just layer the ingredients like you would for lasagna.

Arrange rolls next to each other, one layer deep, in a
buttered baking dish; set aside while you prepare the
cheese sauce.

CHEESE SAUCE: Melt butter then add the flour and cook
for a few minutes to get rid of the floury taste.
Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking constantly
to prevent lumps; add cream, salt and pepper. Cook,
stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth;
remove from heat. Stir in 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
cheese and mix well.

I like to use, both, red and white sauce on this one.
I spoon over a strip of the white sauce, next to it I
spoon on some red; keep doing that across the dish
until the sauce covers the noodles. The red/white
pattern makes it look pretty and gives the dish a
little more flavor. It also cuts back on some of the
fat.

Spoon sauce over cannelloni in baking dish; sprinkle
with remaining Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese,
if used; refrigerate until you're ready to bake it.

BEFORE SERVING: Preheat broiler; place cannelloni 4-5
inches from heat and broil for 10 minutes or until
sauce bubbles and top browns. If you'll be making
lasagna, bake in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes,
or until it's bubbly and the top is browned a bit.



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