Oven Baked Chicken Spinach Manicotti

A different spin on an old favorite, this manicotti is filled with chicken, spinach, ham and cheese.  Covered with a homemade cheesy roux sauce. Sound yummy? It is! Serves 6 Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2-1/2 cups diced cooked chicken breast
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3/4 cup diced fully cooked lean ham
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash ground nutmeg
12 uncooked manicotti shells

SAUCE:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup fat-free milk*
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

* A few tweaks I made to help this recipe: use heavy cream, half-n-half, or even whole milk for your sauce if you want more richness. Also, if you add a 1/4 cup cottage or ricotta cheese, it makes a world of difference! Make your own ricotta cheese. 

Directions

 In a small skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. In a large bowl, combine the onion mixture, chicken, spinach, ham, cheese, egg whites, basil, pepper and nutmeg; set aside. Cook manicotti shells according to package directions.

Meanwhile, for sauce, combine flour and broth in a large saucepan until smooth; gradually stir in the milk, salt, nutmeg, pepper and cayenne. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Spoon 1 cup into chicken mixture. Add cheese to remaining sauce. Spread 1 cup sauce into a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Drain shells; stuff with chicken mixture. Arrange over sauce. Drizzle with remaining sauce. Cover and bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Easy Peasy!

Have you ever done this?