Chicken Manicotti

My first attempt at Manicotti was a success.  This recipe is easy although it takes some time.  The taste is a bit bland, but the sauce makes up for it.  The recipe calls for cubed sized chicken to stuff in the pasta with the spinach mixture.  I left out the chicken, cooked the breasts, and served it on the side.


Ingredients
 
Manicotti stuffing
2 skinless, boneless chicken halves, cubed
1 egg, beaten
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained [I only use bagged spinach]
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
[I added salt and pepper for taste]
10 Manicotti shells [I could only fit nine in the 9x13 baking dish]

Sauce
1 (10-3/4 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 (8 oz) container sour cream
1 cup milk
1 tsp Italian seasoning [I put A LOT more than that!]
1 cup boiling water
1 cup shredded cheese, optional
1 T chopped fresh parsley [would be a nice addition, but I didn't top the dish with it]


Directions 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook chicken in skillet over medium heat until juices run clear.  For the Manicotti stuffing, mix together cooked chicken, egg, spinach, cottage- & Parmesan cheeses, and salt & pepper.  in a medium bowl.  Spoon in the filling into the uncooked shells [actually I found that a fork works better].  Arrange the shells so that they don't touch each other in a 9x13 baking dish.

For the sauce, mix together the soup, sour cream, milk and Italian seasoning, stir well.  Pour sauce completely over the shells.  Pour the boiling water around edges of the pasta.  Tightly cover dish with aluminum foil before putting it in the oven.  Bake for 1 hour or until pasta is done.  Top with cheddar cheese and parsley, have the manicotti rest 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe from: "Shortcut Chicken Manicotti".  http://www.allrecipes.com.   http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Shortcut-Chicken-Manicotti/Detail.aspx

Swedish Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 egg
1 onion, chopped, or 1 T instant minced onions
1 cup mashed potatoes
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 tsp salt

Gravy:
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup, low fat
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt or buttermilk


3 cups cooked brown rice (1 cup raw) or 6 baked potatoes
Fresh parsley

Line a baking sheet with foil.  For meatballs, mix ingredients and shape into (walnut) sized balls, place meatballs on baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes in a 400 degrees oven.  Meanwhile, warm up soup on stove and blend in yogurt or buttermilk until smooth.  Combine the meatballs and gravy and serve over rice or potatoes.

*This recipe is bland.  It has potential if more seasonings are added to it.  The gravy was pretty good, but of course, I didn't add the extra mushrooms.  Overall it needs some modification to add more flavor.

Recipe found in: Merrill, Jane P. and Karen M. Sunderland.  Set for Life.  Salt Lake City, UT: Sunrise Publishers, 1995.