The One Dish Week Plan

This is the plan for the week.

Chicken Spinach Lasagna: Eat and Repeat.

This was a conglomeration of three recipes (including a chicken enchilada recipe). I looked at even more recipes prior to get an idea of what I needed to make a traditional lasagna so I would have a better idea of how to improvise. I know I wanted to use chicken and lots of vegetables. I have to say that the result was amazing. Believe it or not, it is a 'light' lasagna in that it is healthy and you can eat a serving (or a serving and a half) and not feel like you have a brick in your stomach. Success!

Chicken Spinach Lasagna

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves minced

3 cups diced yellow squash

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

3 chicken breasts boiled* and cubed

1 container of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 can of crushed tomatoes, 28 oz

1 can of tomato paste, 6 oz

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried rosemary crushed

1/4 tsp of pepper

1 carton (15 oz) of no boil lasagna noodles**

1 carton of low fat ricotta cheese

1 3/4 cups of mozzarella cheese (or a blend of mozzarella, parmesan, or romano)

*I prefer boiling chicken breasts when I am putting them in a casserole. This has two major advantages. 1: It keeps the breasts moist. 2:I have very little contact with raw chicken breasts which is ALWAYS a good thing. They totally gross me out. 

To boil chicken breasts, put them in a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring to a boil on high heat and then turn down to medium heat and boil for 10-15 minutes. Remove, cool and dice.

**You can use regular lasagna noodles too. I'm just lazy. If you prefer the more work version, simply follow the instructions for cooking them. And if you live in the Madison area, I highly recommend RP Pasta Spinach Lasagna noodles. Yum.

1. In a large saucepan (or electric frying pan), saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes or until onions are translucent. 
2. Stir in yellow squash and mushrooms. Cook 5 minutes or until tender. 
3. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, spinach, chicken breasts and seasonings. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes.
4. While it's simmering, separate out 1 cup of shredded cheese. Mix remaining cheese and ricotta cheese together.
5. Set two cups of sauce aside.
6. Preheat oven to 350.
7. In an ungreased 13x9 baking pan, layer 1/3 sauce, noodles and cheese. Repeat. Layer noodles and sauce on top of that.
8. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
9. Remove foil, add 1 cup of shredded cheese and put back in oven for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
10. Remove and let sit for 15 minutes. Note: This was by far the hardest part of the recipe but it's so worth because it gives the lasagna time to set. 
11. Slice, serve and enjoy!!