Hi! I’m back! I was offline for awhile, but for a good reason-I was updating my site. I hope you like the new look!

So, for my first recipe I’d like to share with you a good ole’ comfort food dish. I feel like I need some comfort with the stress of the new year and all those damn cleanses and diets, insane politics, insane people, sports/grades and last but not least the WEATHER- What the hell??? The weather has been so crummy lately and frankly I am sick of it! I have been traveling all over the country this past month and I can tell you the only place that has nice weather is Scottsdale! I hope they know how good they have it in the winter because Texas, Virgina, New York are awful right now!

Back to the recipe…this is just a variation on traditional lasagna. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE traditional red sauce lasagna, but sometimes you just want a change, but not too much of a change. I’m not talking about a Vegan, no calorie, no flavor lasagna. This is amazing! It’s ooey-gooey, flavorful and is the same comfy dish as red sauce lasagna with a lightened up feel. Don’t stress about all the instructions-its just a basic lasagna with the normal layers. When assembling the lasagna remember the measurements don’t have to be exact just use them as a guideline.

Enjoy!

Rosemary Chicken Lasagna

Filling:

2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1” pieces

2 Tablespoons olive oil

8oz. sliced mushrooms (any variety will work)

2 Tablespoons white wine (omit if you don't have a bottle already opened or plan on drinking one with dinner)

1/2 small onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (packed) chopped fresh spinach or kale

12oz. mozzarella, shredded, divided (you will use half in the béchamel sauce)

15oz whole milk ricotta

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 box/package No Boil Pasta sheets

Bechamel Sauce:

4 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoon flour

4 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 375°

Chicken Mixture:

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauce chicken pieces until golden brown and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Remove cooked chicken to bowl and set aside.

In the same skillet add chopped onions and sauce until soft, about 4 minutes. You might need to add a bit more oil to the pan.

To the onions, add garlic, mushrooms, rosemary and salt. Sauce until mushrooms release liquid and become soft, about 10 minutes on medium-high heat.

Add wine and let the mushrooms absorb the liquid. If you don't want to use wine then just skip this step.

Add chopped spinach or kale to onion mixture. Sauce until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add chicken and turn off heat. Set aside.

Bechamel Sauce:

In a small pot heat milk until warm, but not boiling.

In another small pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until flour is absorbed into butter. Continue to whisk until mixture becomes golden brown, about 4 minutes.

Slowly add the warm milk into the flour/butter mixture whisking constantly until a smooth sauce forms. Add rosemary, salt, pepper, lemon zest and half mozzarella (6oz). Stir until melted and thick (you might want to switch to a spoon vs whisk). Bring mixture to a simmer then turn off heat and set aside.

Assemble Lasagna:

Grease a 9'x13” pan.

Get organized! Place everything on the counter with hot mats- Skillet of chicken/mushroom mixture. Tub of ricotta. Pot of béchamel sauce. Pasta sheets. Remaining shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Pour about 1/2 cup béchamel sauce in bottom of pan and spread out. Lay one layer of pasta sheets, overlapping if necessary.

Place teaspoon sized dollops of ricotta over pasta. Use about 1/2 of container.

Spread out 1/2 of the chicken mixture over the ricotta.

Drizzle 1 cup of béchamel sauce over mixture. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 1/2 of remaining mozzarella over sauce.

Repeat. Place a layer of pasta sheets over chicken mixture, dollop remaining ricotta, spread out remaining chicken mixture, drizzle 1 cup béchamel sauce, sprinkle Parmesan cheese and remaining 1/2 of mozzarella.

Top with the last layer of pasta sheets. Pour remaining béchamel sauce over pasta and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with any remaining chopped rosemary if you have it.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes or until bubbly. Remove foil and bake uncovered for about 10 minutes until top is golden.

Remove from oven and LET REST for about 10-15 minutes. If you cut into the dish right away it won’t have time to set and it will fall apart when serving.