Creamy Chicken Penne with Apple, Cheddar & Cranberries

Tangy and sweet apples and cranberries add punch to this chicken and pasta dish. I'd recommend using Granny Smith apples for this one. To change up the cranberries you can substitute them with dried cherries. If you want to save a ton of calories you'll want to use 1/2 and 1/2 cream instead of the 35% whipping cream. One last thing - we made small cubes with the cheese (rather than shredding it) so you get the occasional nice cheesy bite.

Cheddar Chicken Penne

Recipe Courtesy of All You Need is Cheese:

http://www.allyouneedischeese.ca

Ingredients

1 tbsp (15 mL) butter, divided
1 lb (500 g) boneless skinless chicken, cut into strips
4 green onions, sliced
2 tart cooking apples, thinly sliced
Pinch ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp (30 mL) cider vinegar
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) cream or 1/2 and 1/2
1/2 cup (125 mL) dried cranberries
12 oz (375 g) penne or other short pasta
1 cup (250 mL) cubed old Cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh chives

Preparation

In a large skillet, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat; brown chicken strips, in batches; transfer to a bowl.

Add remaining butter to skillet. Add green onions, apples, nutmeg, 3/4 tsp (4 mL) salt and 1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper; cook, stirring, for about 3 min or until softened. Add vinegar, scraping any bits stuck to pan. Stir in Cream and cranberries; bring to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring often, for about 3 min or until slightly thickened.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta for about 10 min or until tender but firm. Drain and return to pot.

Add chicken and any accumulated juices to sauce; simmer for about 3 min or until chicken is no longer pink inside. Pour over cooked pasta and sprinkle with cheese; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with chives.

Lasagna Rolls

What if you feel like a nice lasagna, but don't have the time or energy to prepare an entire tray? Here's a quick way to enjoy all of the lasagna flavors in a quicker, rolled up version. I made a béchamel with skim milk, then coated a glass baking dish. Then I piled a light ricotta/spinach/parmesan filling onto a cooked lasagna noodle and rolled it up. Once I had 6 of those I placed them in the dish on top of the béchamel, then ladled on some marinara sauce, light mozzarella and a bit of parmesan reggiano. In 20 minutes you've got a nice gooey lasagna dish, that's low cal and satisfying.

This was based on a recipe shown on Giada De Laurentis' "Everyday Italian"

Lasagna Rolls

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted light butter

• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour

• 1 1/4 cups skim milk

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

• Pinch ground nutmeg

Lasagna:

• 1 (15-ounce) container skim milk ricotta cheese

• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

• 1 large egg, beaten to blend

• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles

• 2 cups marinara sauce

• 1 cup shredded light mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

Directions

To make the sauce: Melt the light butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the skim milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the light ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Spray a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish with some Pam. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, on top of the bechamelsauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.

Olive Garden's Siena Sauce

I recently found a great sauce on the Olive Garden's website. Since we love savory flavors here, I knew the roasted red pepper, kalamata and green olive sauce would be a big hit. It's not as salty as it sounds - red peppers really lighten it up.

I served the sauce over penne and garnished it with italian Piave cheese and freshly torn basil with a side of toasted Tuscan bread.

A link to the Olive Garden recipes is here. Let me know if you see anything you like.

Ravioli Caprese & Spicy Mozzarella Meatballs

One of my favorite FoodTV chef's in Giada De Laurentiis. She is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and has a catering company in LA. I often use her recipes as a starting point for my own dinners, and sometimes I copy her 100%. Her Ravioli Caprese is one of those perfect recipes that I don't tweak at all... it's perfection! The ravioli's are stuffed with ricotta, basil and rotisserie chicken. I make a simple marinara sauce and pair it with Giada's Spicy Smoked Mozzarella Meatballs.

Ravioli Caprese

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients Dough:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

• 1 cup very hot water

Filling:

• 3/4 cup whole milk ricotta

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup finely shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken

• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the dough:

In a large bowl combine the flour and the water. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine into a large ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.

For the filling:

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine.

To form the ravioli, cut the dough into 4 evenly sized pieces. The dough should be slightly sticky. Add extra flour as necessary for rolling, but use only a little as necessary. Form each piece into a 2 by 6-inch rectangle. Recover the dough with the plastic wrap.

Lightly dust the work surface and a rolling pin. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into a 4 by 19-inch rectangle. Place 9 rounded teaspoons of filling about 1-inch apart down the center of the dough. Fold the dough over the filling. Press down around the edges of each of the ravioli with your fingertips. Cut the ravioli into small squares and press down around the edges again with your fingertips to seal. Place the finished ravioli on a baking tray and continue forming the remaining ravioli.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add half the ravioli and cook until the ravioli float stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain into a large bowl and cook the remaining ravioli.

Pour the olive oil over the cooked ravioli. Add the basil, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Gently toss to coat and serve immediately.