Broccoli Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Rollups - total time 1 hour

I have developed a Nat Geo addiction over the past week or so.  Last weekend I watched too many hours of The 80s: The Decade That Made Us which I thought was fascinating.  Two things kept crossing my mind while I stared at the screen... 'how did I not know any of this was going on while I was growing up?' and 'wow, I can't believe we lived without ___ 20 years ago'.  Things I take for granted now, like computers that fit on a desk, internet, cell phones, etc.  Now I do remember the progression of all this technology... the green and black computer screens, getting on the internet for the first time in fourth grade, using my dad's cell phone for the first time in eighth grade... but it is hard to think of life without these things now.

And now Nat Geo has me hooked on Brain Games and I am sure I'll get hooked on The Numbers Game.  Can't multi-task and watch these shows... they take you're full attention. At least one network has something interesting to watch.  I used to default to Cooking Channel or Food Network (are you surprised?), but now those channels are full of reality cooking/baking crap.  I tried to sit through an episode of Cupcake Wars (while doing other things, mind you) and had to change the channel... 

Any way... here is a recipe that you can prepare on a night you have time to cook and save it for a night you don't want to or don't have time to cook but still want a home-cooked meal!


6 lasagna noodles
1 lb chicken, shredded
1 head broccoli, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. ricotta
.5 cup mozzarella
2 cups alfredo sauce
salt and pepper

1.  Cook chicken in a pan over medium heat for about four minutes each side.  Add garlic to the pan for the last three minutes to toast it slightly.
2.  Boil noodles for eight minutes.  While noodles are cooking, lightly steam broccoli over pasta pot.  Drain noodles and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process.
3.  Shred the chicken and add it to a medium sized mixing bowl.  Add the ricotta, mozzarella, steamed broccoli, toasted garlic, salt, and pepper to the mixing bowl and mix well.
4.  Lay noodles on flat surface, cover with mixture, and roll into a pinwheel.  Cover the bottom of a tin pan with a couple tablespoons of alfredo sauce.  Add rolled up lasagna to pan.  Cover lasagna rollups with remaining alfredo.
5.  Cover and label with directions (bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes).

If I had planned to put this straight in the oven, I would have used an egg to bind the mixture... but I didn't want raw eggs sitting in my fridge!