Muegge Classic Cannelloni

One of our favorite and most cherished recipes is the cannelloni we created for our first Valentine's Day together. We searched and searched for recipes and never found the ONE so after reviewing those we had and thinking outside the box a little, we came up with a recipe that, in one word... is PERFECT!

Over the years we've found some ways to simplify the recipe - mainly making it the night before and cooking it the day of the dinner party. Which is WONDERFUL! No dishes the day of, no staying in the kitchen all afternoon... great! Last fall, I was craving our cannelloni, but stuffing those shells just wasn't appealing to me, so we decided to make it as a lasagna. I would do this again to serve Kyle and I but I think it is much more company presentable as cannelloni. I'll share instructions for both but pictures for just lasagna.

Muegge Classic Cannelloni (with a twist!)

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast; boneless, skinless, cubed
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
1/3 cup white onion, chopped
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 (10 oz) pkg sliced button mushrooms
2/3 pkg baby spinach
1 (15 oz) tub whole milk ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 pkg Manicotti/Cannelloni shells OR 1 pkg lasagna noodles
1 (16 oz) jar Alfredo sauce
1 (16 oz) jar Spaghetti sauce
Parmesan cheese, for topping

 Directions:
 In a large pot, boil water for pasta. Cook according to directions on package to al dente. Drain pasta and set aside. In large pan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook just about one minute, to infuse flavors into oil.

Place the chicken in the pan and cook until slightly pink in the center. * NOTE: I should have added the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper her... BUT... I forgot!! So, add it now!! *

Add mushrooms and finish cooking chicken. 

And... here is where I remembered to season my meat... haha! 

When the meat has finished cooking, add in the spinach and mix it in just until it begins to wilt. 

Preheat oven to 375°. 

In a large mixing bowl, mix ricotta cheese with 1 cup Parmesan cheese, set aside. 

Use a slotted spoon to drain the chicken and veggies and place them in your food processor. 

Use the food processor to shred the chicken mix finely. 

Thoroughly mix shredded chicken into cheeses. 

For traditional cannelloni: stuff the mixture into shells, gently (these shells tear easily). You can use a piping bag to do this but Kyle and I generally hand stuff them. Place stuffed shells in 13x9 baking dish. Cover one half of shells with Alfredo sauce, the other half with spaghetti sauce. Bake about 20 minutes, until sauces bubble. Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese grated over the top. 

For lasagna: butter a 13x9 baking dish and spread thin layer of Alfredo sauce on half the dish and a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the other half.

Lay down 4-5 lasagna noodles. Layer with 1/3 stuffing mixture. 

Keep your Alfredo/spaghetti sauce boundaries and spread Alfredo on one half and spaghetti sauce on the other. 

Repeat layers with noodles, filling and sauces twice more. Top of with noodles and remaining sauce.

You *could* do Alfredo on one layer, spaghetti sauce on the next, but we like to keep them separate since Kyle prefers spaghetti sauce and I prefer Alfredo sauce! Bake about 20 minutes, until sauces bubble. Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese grated over the top. 

As I said earlier, you can make this recipe early, just don't bake until time to serve and make sure you allow 45-50 minutes to bake since the dish will be cold. Also, this recipe doubles very easily. You can feed a lot of people very easily!! I cooked it straight through from chopping the chicken to baking and it took about 45 minutes start to finish - not too bad!! Enjoy!!

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