People are surprised when I tell them one of my favorite dishes is lasagna. I’m guessing being Asian has something to do with it. I try not to make lasagna often though because as much as I love it, it’s a heavy meal and takes a lot of work. Well, for a busy mom like me anyway.
I alternate making 2 kinds of lasagna. The ground beef with spinach, tomato sauce and cheddar cheese and my “white” lasagna which consists of chicken, alfredo sauce and mozzarella cheese. For today, let me show you how I make the “white” chicken-spinach lasagna.
INGREDIENTS :
- 1 package of cooked lasagna pasta
- 3 tsp of olive oil
- 2-3 boneless chicken breasts, sliced in small strips
- 1 jar of alfredo sauce
- half a jar of water
- sprinkle of Italian seasoning
- half a bag (9 oz) fresh spinach
- 1 tub (16 oz) of cottage cheese (*or ricotta cheese)
- 1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
Cook the lasagna pasta according to the box. Al Dente would be good. Drain the water once cooked then set aside.
Heat olive oil in pan, add the chicken to cook completely, stirring occasionally. Pour the alfredo sauce. Add water into the jar, about half. Put the lid back on and close tightly. Shake the jar. Let the water infuse with the remaining alfredo sauce from the jar. Pour it on the pan. Sprinkle Italian seasoning, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
In a bowl, combine cottage cheese (or ricotta) and fresh spinach. You can use 2 cans of spinach (squeeze the liquid out of it) if you want. I prefer fresh spinach myself.
Preheat the oven to 355°
Let’s start layering. First, add a little bit of the alfredo sauce and chicken mixture onto the bottom of the pan.
Layer 4 sheets of pasta. You’ll need to cut 2 pastas in half to cover what the 4 sheets couldn’t cover. Then spread 1/3 of the spinach and cottage cheese mixture on top.
Add 1/3 of the chicken and alfredo sauce mixture on top. Make sure you distribute the sauce evenly.
Sprinkle 1/3 of the shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Repeat the whole process 2 more times. Then bake it in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
Cool the lasagna for about 10 minutes before slicing into squares. Serve with garlic bread. The leftovers were devoured for the following day’s lunch. The best thing about any pasta dish is that it’s even better the next day.
—-originally posted at the old Blisstree/b5media—-
