Sunday, June 17, 2012

White Chicken Lasagna


White Chicken Lasagna adapted from: One Ordinary Day

Recipe:  White Chicken Lasagna

lasagna noodles  (I used no-bake noodles – about one box.)
2 T. butter
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. flour
2 c. chicken broth
2 c. nonfat milk 
2 c. Italian blend cheese, divided  
1/4 c. shredded  Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 c. part-skim ricotta cheese
1 1/2 c. cooked and shredded chicken ( I used grilled )
1 small box frozen spinach, thawed and drained; liquid squeezed out
1 small box frozen butternut squash puree, thawed

Melt butter in a large saucepot.  Add onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until translucent.  Add flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook flour mixture 1-2 minutes.  Add chicken broth and milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1 minute.  Turn off heat and add 1 cup mozzarella cheese.  Stir in dried spices.

Lightly spray a 9×13″ baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.  Ladle some cheese sauce onto the bottom to thinly cover.  Add a layer of lasagna noodles.  Layer with more cheese sauce, the chicken, and the ricotta cheese.  Add another layer of pasta.  Top with cheese sauce, and spinach.  Add another layer of pasta.  Top with cheese sauce.  Using a spoon, spread the butternut squash puree over the cheese sauce.  Top with remaining 1 c. mozzarella cheese.  Add final layer of lasagna.  Top with remaining cheese sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and continue to cook until bubbly.  If cheese doesn’t brown on top, turn on the broiler for the last couple minutes.  Allow lasagna to sit about 15 minutes before serving for easier slicing.

My recipe significantly decreased the cheese called for in the original (or more original) recipe.  We liked it...so not ever having the really cheesy version....I would say it's a good idea to decrease the fat.   In addition to learning that it is good even with decreased cheese, I learned that squash can be purchased in the frozen vegetable section.  Honestly, I never knew that!  It's probably because I end up with quite a bit in my freezer during squash season.  That's a good thing to know since it may serve as part of a back up plan at some point.

Those grilled chicken breasts sure come in handy since that added some nice flavor to this dish.  It's a great plan to have a few of those frozen for recipes such as this. 

The blog linked above has a gorgeous picture of this lasagna. Although it would be delicious with a salad, I admit that this is all we had for dinner that night.  Paul was skeptical about this but converted to a fan after one bite.

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