chicken lasagna roll-ups

This weekend I was craving both a cheesy heavy lasagna and a lighter chicken cacciatore. Conflicted and bored (as football was on....ew) I decided to tinker around in the kitchen. The result turned out to be amazing (as shown by the fact that T almost demolished all of these by himself). A perfect combination of the two cravings, the end result mimics cannelloni or enchiladas as it wraps around the tasty filling of tender shredded chicken in a tomato sauce.

Ingredients (for 12 roll-ups):
3 tbs olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs dried parsley
1 tbs dried oregano
1 tbs dried basil
28 oz crushed tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 lb lasagna
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. In a large pot, coat the bottom in a layer of olive oil and heat over med-high. Add chicken (I added frozen as I was too lazy and hungry to wait for it to thaw...so if your chicken is raw and not frozen, adjust cooking time appropriately). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and let cook on med-high for 5 minutes.
 

 

2. Flip chicken, salt & pepper again, cover & cook again for another 5 minutes.

3. Uncover chicken, add the diced onion along with 1 tbs olive oil, lower heat to medium, cover and let cook for 3 minutes.

 

4. Stir, add minced garlic, cover and cook again for 3 minutes.
 

5. Add dried herbs and stir to coat.
 

6. Pour in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, one cup of water, and chicken stock.

7. Submerge all chicken bits, stir to mix, and bring to a low boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-high medium, and cook for 10 minutes.

8. Stir, cover, lower heat to medium-low low and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

9. Stir, cover, lower heat further to low and cook for 40 more minutes, stirring once halfway through.

10. Uncover and cook for an additional 7 minutes on medium to thicken. Preheat oven to 375F and cook lasagna.

11. Transfer mixture to a food processor and process to create almost the same consistency of a sauce.
 

12. Lightly butter a baking pan. Lay a piece of lasagna out, dust with shredded cheddar, spoon some of the chicken mixture on top, flatten with spoon, and carefully roll-up one by one. 

 

13. Top with a bit of chicken mixture.
 

 

14. Top with sprinkling of cheddar cheese.
 

 

15. Cover with tin foil and pop in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
 

16. Remove foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Let cool for 3 minutes before attempting to transfer to your plate (to solidify the wrap and to avoid burning your entire mouth with the lava-sauce)!

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simple weekend recap: edition 19

Friday kicked off the weekend with some guacamole in my Christmas molcajete. My favorite & easiest guacamole is just 2 avocados, 1/2 lime's worth of juice, 1 small tomato, 1 tbs cilantro, sprinkling of salt & pepper, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1/2 tsp onion powder all mashed together.

 

Saturday Erin had a date with one of her boyfriends, Mickey, at the dog park...

 

...before the pup-parents headed out to dinner at 80 Thoreau.

 

I started with the crisp gnocchi with bacon, oysters, and cauliflower...

 

..before having the outstanding roasted & braised chicken with potato gratin, brussel sprouts, and almonds. I can never pass up their chicken...it's always so moist!

This weekend we also ended up at the Tip Tap room for some snacks. Started with the mashed sampler, a tasting of horseradish, goat cheese, creamed corn & olive tapenade mashed potatoes. Sadly the only one I enjoyed (but really enjoyed) was the creamed corn version.

 

The dessert saved the visit though...I will definitely return if not just for the perfected bread pudding dessert. Mmmmm.

 

Weekend home-cooked dinner was a chicken lasagna roll-up, a new recipe I thought up while craving both lasagna and chicken cacciatore.  Tender shredded chicken simmered in a tomato sauce rolled up with cheddar inside pieces of lasagna. T almost ate the whole batch himself, as these are delicious (recipe will be posted Tuesday)!

 

 

 

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