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Oh lasagna.....you come in so many forms. But I'm tired of the same tomato based, marinara lasagna. It's time for something new!!! So I created my very own lasagna that includes 3 vegetables; spinach, artichokes, and mushrooms, and chicken in a rich creamy white sauce. It's kind of like spinach artichoke dip on steroids and as a nutritious dinner :)
Since this was a creation of multiple recipes, bare with me as I try to unfold it in the easiest way. It wasn't hard to make at all but writing it down and putting it together in a nice form so all of you can understand, now that's the tricky part!
There are only 2 pans involved for this recipe; one for the sauce and one to cook the noodles.
1. Go ahead and get that large pot of water started. When it comes to a boil you will add half of the lasagna noodles from the box. I baked this dish in a 9x9 pan and did 3 layers. If you want to use a larger pan then just cook more noodles! It is better to cook more than less. You don't want to get to the end of the recipe and start putting it together and then run out of noodles and have to boil some more :(
2. While the noodles are doing their thing, let's start on the sauce. In a hot pan add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/3 cup chopped white onion, and 1 teaspoon garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are transparent. About 3-4 minutes.
3. When the onions are done, whisk in 3 tablespoons flour. Stir until all onions are covered.
4. Gradually add 1 cup of chicken broth and 2 cups of milk. Whisk constantly until all ingredients are blended well. Bring to a simmer.
5. Add 1 cup of mushrooms (if you use fresh mushrooms then steam first so they become soft), 1 cups of spinach (again if you use fresh spinach, steam first and drain), and 2 cups of chopped artichoke hearts.
6. Bring the pan to a simmer again and then add 2 cups of shredded chicken. You can choose to leave this out if you want to make it meat-less! I didn't show me cooking any shredded chicken because I always buy a large rotisserie chicken at the beginning of the week and shred it immediately and place in the fridge and then use it in all of my meals for that week. It makes life so much easier. But if you didn't have any pre-shredded chicken then dice and cook 1 pound of chicken and add.
7. Lastly, add 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. Stir everything until melted and blended well. About 5 minutes.
8. Now it's the assembly time! Spray your baking pan with non-stick spray and then lay down three rows of lasagna noodles and cover well with your mixture.
9. Repeat 3 times, meaning you should lay down 3 layers of noodles or 9 all together. When you get to the top, leave a little bit of mixture and spread out evenly on top and then cover with 1/2 cup of pepper jack cheese and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Place in the oven at 375 degrees for 35 minutes!
See not that bad!
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
1/2 box of cooked lasagna noodles
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup chopped white onion
1 tsp. garlic
3 tbsp. flour
1 cup chicken broth
2 cup milk
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup cooked spinach or (one 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained)
2 cups chopped artichoke hearts (that is one 14 oz. can)
2 cups shredded chicken (remember rotisserie chicken is a life saver)
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
on top-
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
