Chicken, Spinach, and Crimini Lasagna

I hope that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and beginning of the holiday season! Our Christmas tree is up and we’ve started enjoying some classic holiday recipes, like mulled wine and hot cocoa. There will be more holiday classics coming up in the next few weeks so stay tuned!

This isn’t one of our classic holiday recipes but it could be because it’s that delicious! Also, this is my first home-made lasagna ever!!! I’m pretty proud of it if you couldn’t tell from all the exclamation points. I know making a lasagna from scratch seems intimidating but it’s really quite easy. I’ll be honest and admit that it was a little time consuming but totally worth it because it easily serves a crowd (or two for several days). The recipe is also easily adaptable. If you want to make it vegetarian, leave out the chicken and add more mushrooms. You need to make this recipe. Sorry to be bossy but go make it now.

Printer-Friendly Recipe

Serves 8-10

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

For the filling:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 pound crimini mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 bag pre-washed baby spinach
• Salt and Pepper

For the bechamel:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk, warmed

• Lasagna sheets, parboiled just until soft
• 2 cups mozzerella cheese
• 1 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil with a large pinch of salt and a little olive oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook just until it’s pliable, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook the filling:

Preheat a large saute pan over medium heat. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Add olive oil the pan and sear the chicken on both sides until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and set aside. Cut into bite-sized chunks when cool.

In the same pan, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the spinach until just wilted, 2-3 minutes, and season with salt and pepper. When you are sauteing the spinach, be sure to scrape up the bits at the bottom of the pan left
from searing the chicken. Remove the spinach from the pan and set aside.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and olive oil in the pan. Add in the olive oil and add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are brown and most of their moisture has cooked off, about 5-7 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and garlic from the pan and set aside.

Make the bechamel:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the butter stops foaming, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes. Add in the warmed milk and continue to stir. Cook until think, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Assembling the lasagna:

Coat the bottom of a 8 by 12 inch casserole dish with a little olive oil. Arrange 3 to 4 of the noodles over the bottom of the dish, you may have to piece them together to cover the bottom. Spread some of the sauce over the noodles. Arrange 1/3 of the chicken, 1/3 of the mushrooms, and 1/3 of the spinach evenly over the cheese. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzerella cheese. Repeat this process 2 times, layering noodles, sauce, fillings, and cheeses. Finish the lasagna with a final layer of noodles, the remaining sauce, and 1/4 cup of parmesan and 1/2 cup of mozzerella cheese.

Bake the lasagna for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. Let the lasagna sit for 15 minutes at room temperature before slicing.

Chicken and Chorizo Empanadas

So much for the unseasonably warm weather. It dropped like 20 degrees in two days, so it’s finally feeling like fall. And all this cool weather makes me want heartier food. This empanada definitely falls into that category. I found the recipe on one of the blogs that I frequent, Smitten Kitchen. It’s a great blog that’s been around for several years. The photos are beautiful and the recipes look delicious. Definitely check it out!

Superbowl 2011: Chicken Wings with Two Sauces

For the past three years, Jeff and I have thrown a Superbowl party. I make the food, Jeff tends bar, and people usually come bearing sweets and beer. Mmmm, beer. The menu varies each year but last year I stumbled upon a recipe that is going to be a must-have each year.

The Filipino Cure to the Common Cold: Arroz Caldo

This recipe holds a special place in my heart, mostly because it’s usually what my mom made when my brother and I had the sniffles. Think of Arroz Caldo as the Filipino version of chicken noodle soup. This is true Filipino comfort food.

Food from My Childhood – Chicken Adobo

This is my first Filipino recipe for Triple F (hee hee, I like nicknames), and how appropriate that it’s Chicken Adobo. Adobo has very few ingredients and the flavor strikes a fine balance of salty, sour, and a touch of sweet. Adobo is the national dish of the Philippines, but with that being said every family has their own recipe for adobo. Even my version of adobo is different from my mom’s version. This is due to the fact that my mom almost never measures when she cooks. This makes things complicated when I want to make a dish that I had growing up. It has been shown that my memory isn’t reliable when it comes to remembering recipes. So I called my mom to get the recipe from her.

Chicken Flisha Masala

This recipe has a bit of history to it. When Jeff and I first moved into together, I wanted to make him curry. I had never made curry before and wanted to mimic the curry recipe that my mom makes. So going off of my (not-so-reliable) memory I went to the grocery store and picked up what I thought were the ingredients in my mom’s curry. It turns out that I was totally off – her curry is not red and does not have coconut milk. But I ended up making my own version of curry that it pretty damn good and has become a staple in our kitchen.