When I was younger I never cared for lasagna. I attribute this to a few things. I did not care for lots of red sauce at that time. I always thought lasagnas had too much sauce. It was unappealing to look at & I ended up scraping excess away. I also thought they were too cheesy. I love cheese. I have always loved cheese. I eat way too much cheese I am sure, but when it comes to pizzas & lasagnas I believe that less is more. I also don’t know if I ever had a homemade lasagna. They were always frozen aisle lasagnas.
Once I started cooking for myself, I realized I love lasagna. I just like it the way I make it with less sauce & cheese. I also never used to use loaf pans. I would use a normal 8×8 or 9×13 pan. Since I am cooking for 2 almost always, I like using the loaf pans. That way it is always fresh when you pop it in the oven. I also like being able to prep meals ahead of time & lasagna is one of the perfect make ahead meals. With the loaf pans you get one right away and another within a week. As the guy I am cooking for likes red lasagnas I have always made those. I decided to make a white lasagna this time. It is creamy, savory, & a nice change from a traditional red sauced lasagna. It even has his approval.
White Chicken Lasagna
- 2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
- 8 lasagna noodles, cooked
- 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg
- 1tsp each basil, oregano, pepper
- few dashes each onion powder & garlic powder
- 1 diced onion, red pepper, & yellow pepper
- olive oil
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 3 tbsp. flour
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 3 cups milk
- pinch sage, basil, oregano, pepper & salt
- 1/4 cup mozzarella
- 1/2-3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- parmesan cheese (optional)
- Lightly coat a large skillet with olive oil. Sauté the onion & peppers until almost caramelized. Add one tbsp. butter & stir until melted. Add 3 tbsp. flour & stir until dissolved. Add 1 cup chicken stock, 3 cups milk, & pinch each basil, oregano, pepper & salt. Stir often until thickened & bubbly. Add 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
- Meanwhile, mix egg, cottage cheese, shredded chicken, tsp each basil, oregano, & pepper, few dashes each onion & garlic powder, & 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese in a medium bowl.
- Take two loaf pans & place 1/4 cup sauce on the bottoms of each. Place approx. 1.5 noodles (cutting & overlapping as necessary) on sauce. Top each with 1/4 the chicken mixture. Sprinkle a small amount of mozzarella cheese over the chicken. Top with sauce. Repeat layers once ending with last layer of noodles on top. Finally, over the last set of noodles place some more mozzarella & top with remainder of sauce. If desired, top with parmesan cheese. Cover both with foil. Bake immediately, place in the fridge overnight, or place in the freezer for up to a week (if placing in freezer cover with foil, wrap it completely in plastic wrap, & wrap again completely with foil. Remove outer wrap of foil & plastic before baking).
- Bake in a 375F oven for 40-45min covered & 15-20 minutes without foil (if frozen add 10-15 minutes to each portion of baking).
