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Sunday, January 4, 2009

Rosemary-Chicken Lasagna


You know that lasagna recipe I mentioned earlier? Well, here's the recipe. It's a long one and you'd do yourself a favor to review it a couple times before starting. I didn't change much: red bell peppers instead of green and I couldn't find plain Gruyere cheese so used smoked. And man, could we taste the smoke! I'd like to find plain Gruyere and try it again when I have a couple of hours to make dinner.


CHICKEN FILLING
  1. 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
  2. 1-lb. bone-in skin-on chicken breast halves
  3. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  4. 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
  5. 6 oz. mushrooms, sliced (about 2 1/3 cups)
  6. 2 small green bell peppers, diced (1/4 inch)
  7. 2 tablespoons white wine chicken broth
  8. 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted (Toast pine nuts in dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, or microwave on high 1 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned.)
CHEESE FILLING
  1. 24 oz. low-fat ricotta cheese
  2. 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Gruyère cheese
  3. 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  4. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  5. 1 teaspoon salt
SAUCE
  1. 5 tablespoons butter
  2. 3 garlic cloves, minced
  3. 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  4. 3 cups milk
  5. 1 teaspoon salt
  6. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
LASAGNA
  1. 2 cooked lasagna noodles
  2. 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
  3. 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Gruyère cheese
PUT IT TOGETHER

Chop enough rosemary to measure 1/2 teaspoon; reserve for garnish.

Place chicken and remaining rosemary sprigs in medium skillet. Add enough water to almost cover chicken.


Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 10 minutes or until no longer pink in center and juices run clear, turning once. Place chicken and rosemary on plate; cool.


Shred chicken. Remove rosemary from stems; finely chop. Place chicken and rosemary in medium bowl.


Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion; cook 4 minutes or until tender. Add mushrooms, bell peppers and broth; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until liquid is reduced and vegetables are tender. Stir in pine nuts; remove from heat.

In small bowl, stir together all cheese filling ingredients.


To make sauce, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 3 minced garlic cloves. Whisk in flour; cook 2 minutes, whisking constantly.


Slowly whisk in milk until smooth and thoroughly blended. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper; cook 2 to 4 minutes or until thickened.

Yee, gross image!

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 13x9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1 cup of the sauce in pan. Layer as follows: 3 noodles, half of the cheese filling, half of the vegetables,


3 noodles, 1 cup of the sauce, chicken filling,


3 noodles, remaining cheese filling, remaining vegetables,


3 noodles and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, 1 cup Gruyère cheese and 1/2 teaspoon reserved chopped rosemary.


Bake 20-25 minutes or until hot and cheese begins to brown in spots. Let stand 10 minutes.


12 servings.


Wow. This took a bit more effort than what I usually put into a meal. And it was worth it. As I mentioned above, I would like to try plain Gruyere rather than smoked. Unfortunately, with the smoked, it overrode a lot of other flavors -- like the rosemary. Regardless, it was good. Rodney even liked it. He had a HUGE salad and a tiny piece of lasagna with garlic bread to minimize his suffering due to lactose intolerance -- and it worked.

The cost:
  • fresh rosemary: $1.29
  • 1 lb. bone-in skin-on chicken breast halves: leftover from another meal
  • mushrooms: $2.39/8oz.
  • red bell peppers: $0.61
  • pine nuts: $2.41
  • ricotta cheese: $4.99/30oz.
  • Gruyère cheese: $6.49/8oz.
  • eggs: $1.79/dozen
  • milk: $2.50/half-gallon
  • lasagna noodles $2.17/lb
  • mozzarella cheese: $0.75/4oz (we buy this in bulk).
Total: $25.39. Seems insane, but it's $2.12 a serving!  And there is stuff leftover. If I cut, bag, and freeze it in individual portions, it will make future dinners (and lunches) a snap. Just warm up some lasagna and chop a quick salad and dinner's done in less than 30-minutes. Definitely a good deal and it's gotta be better for you than Stouffer's.

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