Chicken Spinach Lasagna

You know how I said that I don't make fancy dinners that often?  Cheap and fast are the two words that usually describe our meals around here.  I'm trying to do better because Derek has requested that I make "real" dinners more often, so the other night I thought I'd make a chicken lasagna.  

I've never made chicken lasagna before, but I didn't really like the recipes I found - so I mixed and matched and changed certain things entirely until I had made up my own recipe again!  I tell you, I'm on a roll.  

Derek and I aren't foodies or chicken lasagna connoisseurs, but we thought it turned out pretty good!  So I wanted to share my recipe with you (and also as a record for myself so that the next time I make it I have it all typed out).  Please excuse some of the poor quality photos - I was still just working with a phone camera when I made this!

Chicken Spinach Lasagna

2 chicken breasts, cooked

Lasagna noodles

1/2 onion, minced

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 stick (1/4 c.) butter

1/2 flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups chick broth 

1 cup milk

32 oz. small curd cottage cheese, drained and rinsed

2 eggs

3/4 c. parmesan cheese

2 tsp. oregano

32 ounce block of mozzarella cheese

2 cups spinach leaves

A few fresh basil leaves (optional)

1/4 chopped fresh parsley

1. Cook chicken breasts (however you want, I just put a couple frozen chicken breasts in the oven until they were cooked through).  Let them cool, then shred or cube the chicken. Set aside.

2. Boil 6-9 lasagna noodles in water until they are cooked and flexible.

3. In the meantime, add butter, onion, and garlic to saucepan over medium heat until onions are translucent and tender.  Add flour and salt (but if I'm honest, I forgot the salt - it tasted fine anyway, but most recipes call for salt), mix well.  Add chicken broth and simmer until thick (whisk if it starts to look clumpy).  Whisk in milk and set aside.

4.  While the sauce is simmering, drain the cottage cheese and rinse well.  

In a bowl mix the cottage cheese, eggs, and oregano (I just eyed it with the oregano, it was probably around 2 teaspoons). Mix in 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese and the shredded or cubed chicken. Set aside.

5. Rinse spinach leaves and, tear up into smaller pieces if desired.  I also mixed in a few basil leaves with the spinach, just because I was dying to use our new basil plant! Set aside.

(My pretty basil plant.)

(Spinach leaves, pre-tearing.)

6. Slice mozzarella cheese.

(Is It weird that I think sliced mozzarella cheese is pretty?)

7. Now comes the fun part - layering!  Start with a layer of lasagna noodles.

Then spread a layer of the cottage cheese mixture over that.

Put down a layer of spinach leaves.  (Sorry, no picture of that step, but I'm confident you all can figure it out by yourselves anyway.)

Layer the mozzarella slices over that.

Spread a thin layer of sauce over the cheese.

Repeat.

8.  Sprinkle the remainder of the parmesan cheese and the fresh parsley over the top of the lasagna.  

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes, until heated through and bubbly.

Cool for 10 minutes and serve!

Variation Idea: I also saw a recipe that called for artichoke.  I didn't have any, so I didn't try it in mine, but I think it would be good with artichoke cut up and added into the cottage cheese mixture.  I'll probably try it that way next time, and if it's good I'll report back.

Enjoy!