Recipe Roulette ~ Shortcut Chicken Manicotti

This recipe came from a 2008 Kraft food and family magazine which really made me realize that I am a recipe hoarder. Four years and I am just now getting around to trying this recipe. I have gotten a lot of recipes from the Kraft magazines and also their website. They are usually fairly simple and easy to follow recipes and generally contain ingredients that are fairly easy to come by. I will say that this recipe almost didn't happen when I had to go to two grocery stores to find manicotti noodles. Harris Teeter is my store of choice but they totally failed me when I went and was informed that they stopped selling them a little over a month ago. Argh! Fortunately the Food Lion around the corner had what I needed.  

Ingredients used ~ 1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cup water
8oz Velveeta
2 cups frozen broccoli florets
12 manicotti shells
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Italian Seasoning, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper

One thing that is good about the Kraft website is there is always lots of reviews of their recipes. They post all of the reviews, good and bad. Before I started cooking this I looked online and read some of the reviews and I'm glad I did. The original recipe did not call for any seasoning of the chicken, which after reading several reviews it seemed like something was needed to spice it up a little. I took the suggestion of one of the reviews and seasoned the chicken with some Italian seasoning, garlic powder and a dash of black pepper. After cutting up the chicken I just threw it in a bowl and threw spices in and mixed until they were pretty evenly coated.

After prepping the chicken, mix the soup, Velveeta, and water in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 3-4 minutes stirring halfway through until cheese is melted. Pour 1/3 of sauce in 9x13 inch baking dish. Set aside. Add broccoli to remaining soup mixture.

Stuff pasta with chicken strips; place in baking dish

Cover completely with remaining soup mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 45-50 minutes or until pasta is tender and chicken is cooked through.

Makes 4 servings, 3 stuffed manicotti each.

Hubby and I both enjoyed this meal. It was fairly simple to make, but I must admit that I had a total brain fart while making it. If you'll notice the written recipe says to add the broccoli to remaining sauce before cooking. I totally forgot that step and remembered with about 8 minutes left on the clock. I decided the easiest way correct that was to quick steam in the microwave and serve on top. I actually think that may have worked out in my favor I'm not sure there would have been enough sauce to cook it adequately.
Since this recipe is now a keeper I will however make a notation that next time beside remembering to add the broccoli before cooking I think it really does need just a tad bit more sauce, which could easily be done by adding another can of soup and a tad bit more water. ( I had already doubled the amount of Velveeta that the original recipe called for ;) )  Hopefully the leftovers will be tasty. Hubby and I will both be testing that out for lunch tomorrow.
:)