Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

I came about this recipe in kind of an odd way.  I had it for lunch in New Hampshire but it had been brought to the home where I had lunch by old friends in State College.  I traveled all the way to New England only to have lunch that was cooked at home!

I’m so glad because it was such a nice alternative to a traditional lasagna. When I got home I talked with the woman who had the recipe so that I could make it myself.

I love the way it browned a bit on top.  And even though they are Mike’s least favorite, my best part of a lasagna are the crunchy exposed noodle bits.

Inside it’s creamy and with tons of delicious spinach.

We cheated and used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, but even if we had cooked the chicken, it’s pretty easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 tsp basil
• 2 c. cottage cheese (we used unsalted 1%)
• 9 to 10 uncooked lasagna noodles (we used the no cook kind)
• 2 pkgs chopped spinach thawed and drained
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 c. cooked chicken cut up

Here’s how I constructed it.

Melt butter and add garlic and onion. Stir in flour and salt. Cook, stirring, until bubbly.  Stir in milk and broth. Heat to boiling and cook for 1 minute. Stir in mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, basil, oregano and pepper.  Cook over low heat until cheese melts.

In a greased 9 by 13 inch pan layer sauce, noodles, cottage cheese, chicken, spinach and then sauce.  Add one more layer of noodles, cottage cheese, chicken, spinach and sauce. Top with remaining noodles and sauce then sprinkle with 1/2 c. of Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Because there were thunderstorms predicted throughout the day, when we planned the menu for the week, we decided that tonight was not the night to grill.  Of course, we had a big storm this afternoon with hail and house shaking thunder that was pretty exciting but it was calm and beautiful outside as we made dinner.

Either way, dinner was delicious.  Not very photogenic, but delicious.

We made Chicken Tamale Casserole from Cooking Light. I’ve made this before and it’s always very good and easy.  The part that takes the longest for me is shredding the chicken, but I usually buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and I sort of enjoy pulling it apart.  I know that’s kind of gross but I also like cleaning off the turkey carcass on Thanksgiving.

Ours is not as light as the original recipe. I used an egg, instead of egg substitute, probably used a half a cup more cheese on top, used most of the chicken from a rotisserie chicken (which was likely more than two cups though I didn’t measure) and I got a bigger can of enchilada sauce (although I didn’t use it all, it was more than the recipe called for).  At the recommendation of a friend who made it before I ever did, I mix the enchilada sauce into the chicken instead of over the corn bread.

Ours didn’t set up as nicely as the picture in the recipe but I am a huge fan of food all mixed together and the flavors in this are great.  I think that corn bread in the first part of the recipe could be made to go with chili or soup.