Sunday, January 30, 2011

White Cheese Chicken & Spinach Lasagna

We try to eat pretty healthy through the week but Sundays I usually fix a nice big meal for us to really enjoy!  I have been wanting to make a chicken and spinach lasagna and this hit the spot.  I think if I added mushrooms next time it would be perfect.  The original recipe made it in a 13x9 pan, but considering its just the two of us and we didn't want to be eating on this for the rest of the week, I made it in an 8x8 pan and adapted the recipe to cut down the size by about half.  Here is the way I made it:

Ingredients
6 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1/4 cup butter
1/2 to 1 onion (depending on size), chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon italian seasonings
fresh ground black pepper to taste 
1 cup ricotta cheese (or more if you are me) 
1 to 1/2 cup thinly sliced, cooked chicken meat
1 (10 ounce) package spinach 
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil with a bit of olive oil so noodles don't stick together. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes (al dente). Drain, and rinse with cold water. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Whisk in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the italian seasonings and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside. Mmm...it should be looking nice and cheesy
Wilt the spinach in a sauce pan with a little evoo (or you could use frozen spinach and thaw and dry it - this was just easier to me). Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, 1/2 of the spinach, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and 1/2 of the remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles, and spinach, chicken, and ricotta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. (your layers don't really matter which way you do them). Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

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