Chicken Cannelloni With Cheese Sauce

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 3/4 cups cooked chicken, diced
• 1 lb lasagna noodle
• 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 ounces mushrooms, chopped
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream or 2 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 bunch spinach, cooked until
• 3 tablespoons butter or 3 tablespoons margarine
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups half-and-half
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2-1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated (optional)
• spaghetti sauce (homemade or store bought) (optional)

Recipe

• 1 the night before (or early in the day): cook lasagna noodles in 6 quarts boiling water for 5-7 minutes or until tender; drain, wipe noodles dry with a clean/dry cloth, lay flat on waxed paper.
• 2 while noodles are cooking, melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet.
• 3 saute onion, garlic and mushrooms until they're tender; add remove from heat; set aside.
• 4 place cooked chicken in food processor and pulse until chicken resembles a tuna salad mixture.
• 5 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.
• 6 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.
• 7 arrange rolls next to each other, one layer deep, in a buttered baking dish; set aside while you prepare the cheese sauce.
• 8 cheese sauce: melt butter then add the flour and cook for a few minutes to get rid of the floury taste.
• 9 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.
• 10 i like to use, both, red and sauce on this one. i spoon over a strip of the sauce, next to it i spoon on some red; keep doing that across the dish until the sauce covers the noodles. the red/ pattern makes it look pretty and gives the dish a little more flavor. it also cuts back on some of the fat.
• 11 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.
• 12 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.