Bruschetta Chicken

I found this one of the Taste of Home and it's easier to make then it looks and sounds, so don't be discouraged.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup egg substitute
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
2 garlic cloves, mined
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
1. Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in flour, then in eggs;plave in a greased 13x9 baking dish. Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over chicken.

2. Loosely cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer or until meat thermometer reads 170. (I didn't have a thermometer, so I just baked until juices were clear)

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over the chicken. Return to the oven for 3-5 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through.

Notes:
This is one of the best smelling recipes that I have ever made. You really need to have fresh basil to pull it off and heating the tomato mixtures is a must.

Light Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
1 cup spaghetti or marinara sauce
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
3 Tablespoons Italian Style bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon margarine or butter, melted
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Heat spaghetti sauce in small saucepan over low heat until thoroughly heated. Cover to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, place 1 chicken breast half, boned side up, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Working from the center, gently pound chicken with flat side of meat mallet or rolling pin until about 1/4 inch thick (if I get it to 1/2 an inch I'm happy); remove wrap. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
3. In shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and margarine; mix well. Add chicken breasts. Turn to coat.
4. Spray large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken; cook 4-6 minutes or until fork tender and juices run clear. (If your chicken was not flattened, this will take longer) Turn once.
5. To serve, place cooked chicken on serving platter; sprinkle with shredded cheese. Pour warm sauce over chicken; sprinkle with parsley.

Chicken Manicotti

This recipe was taken from the Taste of Home magazine and can be frozen and saved for up to one month. The recipe actually makes 2 dishes with one being frozen for later use. I found that it fed our family, so if you have more than a family of 4 you may want to cook both dishes at once.

Ingredients:

Garlic Powder
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
16 uncooked manicotti shells
2 jars of speghetti sauce (kept separate)
1 pound bulk Italian sausage, cooked and drained
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced (I omitted these when I made the dish)
shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 cups water, divided

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into 1 inch strips
2. Sprinkle garlic powder over chicken
3. Stuff chicken into manicotti shells
4. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce in 2 greased 13 x 9 baking dishes
5. Place 8 manicotti shells in each dish
6. Sprinkle with sausage and mushrooms
7. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over the top of the shells
8. Sprinkle mozzerella over the sauce
9. Drizzle water around the edge of each dish
10. Cover and bake one casserole at 375 for 65-70 minutes or until pasta is tender and juices run clear
11. Cover and freeze the remaining casserole for up to 1 month.

To use frozen casserole:
Thaw in the refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Bake as directed .

*Note*
I Chose to sprinkle more mozzarella on the top of the dish when it came out of the over, so the cheese was freshly melted.

Pizza Roll

Ingredients:
1 loaf (1 pound) frozen bread dough, thawed
2 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces of sliced peperoni
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1/4 to 1/2 cup pickled pepper rings
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 can (2 1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 can (15 ounces) pizza sauce

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease a cookie sheet and set aside.
3. Roll out the dough into a rectangle (about 15 inches x 10 inches), place on cookie sheet.
4. In a small bowl combine egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, oil, parsely, oregano, garlic powder and pepper. Brush mixture over the dough.
5. Sprinkle with peperoni, mozzerella, mushrooms, pepper rings, green pepper and olives.
6. Roll up jelly roll style, starting with the long side; pinch at the seam to seal and tuck ends under.
7. Place seam side down.
8. Brush with egg whites.
9. DO NOT LET RISE. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Serve sliced with warmed pizza sauce.

Notes:
YIELDS: 10-12 slices
This is the exact recipe from Quick Cooking. My family hates most of these toppings, which is basically a combination pizza. However, I found that you can put any toppings that your family likes inside and it still turns out great. The peperoni mentioned her is a good about, even though it seems like a lot. My only caution is if you choose to put sausage on it, that you use it sparingly. Remember it all gets rolled up, layered right on top of each other. It also tastes really good dipped in ranch dressing.

Mixed Up Green and White Lasagna

Ingredients:
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 (10 oz. box) chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (15 oz) container of Alfredo sauce
3/4 cup half & half
1 pound cooked Italian sausage, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, mined

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray 13 x 9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
3. In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and mix together well
4. Transfer to baking dish
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes

Notes:
The original recipe called for light Alfredo sauce and fat free half & half. I couldn't find these in the grocery store that day, so I used the regular stuff. You could easily add more noodles and sauce to make more. This makes a lasagna about 1-1 1/2 inch thick in the baking dish.