Garlic Parmesan Chicken Lasagna

 

My picky eating is a much bigger problem in the savory food world than the sweet (I mean...we can all agree chocolate and sugar and butter are delicious, amirite?) So I get SO. GOSH. DARNED. EXCIIITED when I find a new dinner recipe! Like...sure....they're pretty much all variations on each other (chicken? check. garlic? check. some kind of cheese? check. A carb? CHECK) but....I mean...whatever...they're sort of different...

Anyway. So like....I love chicken. I love garlic. I love lasagna.  I love Parmesan. Sooooo let's be real: Garlic Parmesan Chicken Lasagna was MADE FOR ME TO LOVE AND TO EAT! (I've made it twice already)

And ya know what's sort of dope (yeah. I just said dope. dealwithit!)? I used MY OWN,  freshly grown, parsley to top this lasagna and for the pictures!! FRESH HERBS ARE THE BESTEST! (yes....I said the word dope and then I said "bestest". I'm a complex woman.)

This lasagna tastes like...home to me. Like...it's a cross between lasagna (of which I actually love my mom's mom's recipe and use it to this day.) and this chicken noodle casserole dish that was probably made every week or every other week growing up because I WAS OBSESSED with it. This dish is like those....but better. It's probably gonna be made a lot from now on. It doesn't even take long to make (especially if you use pre-cooked chicken)! *happy dance*

I know even my mom would like this recipe. And she's just as picky as me. It was funny, my cousin Megan asked me the other day "Do you eat like your mom or like normal people?" To which I replied, "Somewhere in between...." My mom got a bit offended and insisted she eats way more things than me-which used to be true. Now I'd say we're probably even. We both eat things the other won't, but for the most part we're both pretty basic. I, however, am much more open to new foods than my darling mother (I like to cite the dreaded incident where I made her my just chicken pot pie recipe and she PICKED OUT ALL THE SCALLIONS! Like....what?! She insisted she'd gag if she ate one, to which I told her the flavor was there regardless! Agh!) Anyway...yeah. She'd like this. I'm pretty, darrrrn, sure! In fact-I think I'll make it for her soon! Hooray for having that option!

I mean...I don't know what else to say. Garlicky sauce, cheese, noodles, chicken. 

You obviously are gonna love it.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Lasagna

Slightly adapted from Pinch of Yum

Serves 9-12.

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp. butter
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp. minced garlic (4-5 cloves)
• 6 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 5 cups milk
• 10-15 no boil lasagna noodles
• 3 cups cooked, shredded, chicken (rotisserie adds great flavor, but you can also just bake/roast up some chicken)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup Swiss cheese (I've also used mozzarella)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• Optional-fresh herbs, such as parsley

Preparation:

• In a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, stirring to avoid burning.
• Add flour, poultry seasoning, and salt. Whisk and cook or about 1 minute.
• Add milk, 1 cup at a time, stirring until slightly thickened before adding the next cup. Continue cooking until thickened, smooth, and simmering. Remove from heat.
• Grease a 9"x13" with nonstick cooking spray and preheat oven to 400F degrees.
• Cover the bottom of the pan with broken lasagna noodles (3-5), half of the shredded chicken, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup water (this helps cook the noodles), and 1 and 1/2 cups of the prepared sauce. Repeat this 1 time. Top with another layer of noodles, the final 1/3 cup water and 1 and 1/2 cups sauce, and the Swiss (or mozzarella) cheese. 
• Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes.
• Remove foil and cover the top with breadcrumbs. Bake 5-10 minutes, until golden and bubbly. 
• Sprinkle with fresh herbs and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

I baked this with love. For you!

Lasagna: A Guest Post for I'm Cookin' In My Kitchen

I have some very exciting stuff for you today! I have written my first ever guest post over at one of my best blogging friends, Jenn's, blog- I'm Cookin' In My Kitchen. It's a fairly new blog-but full of lots of delicious recipes, fun and oftentimes inspiring writing from Jenn, and the occasional adorable photo of her cat, Buddy. :)

She requested I share a favorite Italian recipe, perhaps a family one? And so, if you would like the recipe to that delicious lasagna you see up there (that Michael and I absolutely gobble up whenever I make it) head on over and check it out!

AND to celebrate our combined first guest post ever, Jenn is hosting a great giveaway! Click to see what she's giving, and how to enter!CLOSED

Lasagna

Family recipe from my Grandma Friedrich (maiden name Moore)

Makes 1 large lasagna pan (or one 9 x 13 pan and one 11 x 7 pan)

Ingredients:

·         About 1 pound lasagna noodles (you may need less, I usually do. I also use Ready Bake lasagna noodles to make my life easier—I end up using 15 noodles in all, when doing so. To make this healthier you can use whole wheat.)

·         32 oz. Container of ricotta cheese (you may use less or more, depending on your preference of how much ricotta you want. I always use 32 oz. I also love ricotta.)

·         Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Provolone cheese. The original recipe calls for 1 package, each, of sliced cheese. I prefer to use shredded, and usually use about 3 bags of “Italian” shredded cheese (which contain a mix of mozzarella, Parmesan, and provolone). (You can also use different cheeses, or more or less, to taste.)

·         About 1 large can/jar of your favorite pasta sauce (homemade or store bought. I use meat, you can use meatless or whatever you like. The amount you use depends on preference. I use less than called for, as I don't love a lot of sauce.)

·         1 pound ground beef, browned in a skillet (Optional-you can also use whatever add-ins you choose.)

Preparation:

·         Cook lasagna noodles and drain (if not using oven ready noodles). Brown the ground beef in a pan—season to taste.

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

·         Spray pan(s) with non-stick cooking spray.

·         Put a very thin layer of sauce on bottom of pan(s) (helps keep bottom layer of noodles moist). Then lay lasagna noodle layer. Layer (in whatever order you prefer. I usually layer noodles-sauce-ricotta-beef-cheeses-noodles-etc.) the meat, ricotta, other cheeses, sauce, and noodles. Repeat until the pan is nearly full. (9 x 13 pans have 3 layers, 11 x 7 pans have 2 layers—could perhaps hold 3.) The top of the lasagna should have the cheeses.

·         Sprinkle dried basil on top of layered lasagna (optional).

·         Cover with foil (with the underside coated in non-stick spray) and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake more 10-15 minutes-or until bubbly and beginning to brown.

·         Let sit 5 minutes before cutting.

·         Make Ahead Directions: Take the layered, uncooked, lasagna pan(s) and cover tightly with plastic wrap, then foil. Refrigerate up to 2 days, or freeze up to 2 months. When ready to bake, remove plastic wrap and replace the foil. Bake refrigerated lasagna the same as you would bake fresh. Bake frozen lasagna 1 hour and 30 minutes, making sure to remove the foil before the final 10-15 minutes of baking.