National Lasagna Day!

Happy National Lasagna Day Everybody! I love lasagne. Any kind of lasagne…Wish I had some right now! But I don’t…What I have got is a free recipe for a great lasagna from our Family Living: Our Best Cookbook Collection. This is the lasagna recipe that my kids would eat when they were little and picky and wouldn’t consume anything touched by tomatoes, ground beef, or onions. (I also left out the artichoke hearts, and I made it with canned chicken ’cause I’m kinda lazy.)

Chicken-Mushroom Lasagna

2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) cream of mushroom soup
2 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 egg
1 package (8 ounces) uncooked lasagna noodles
1 jar (6 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and coarselychopped
1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium bowl, combine soup, milk, and white pepper; stir until well blended. In another medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach, and egg; stir until well blended. Spoon 1/2 cup of soup mixture over bottom of a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Layer half of uncooked lasagna noodles over soup mixture. Layer half of artichoke pieces, half of mushrooms, 1 cup chicken, 3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, and half of spinach mixture over noodles. Spoon 2 cups soup mixture over layers. Repeat layers with remaining lasagna noodles, artichoke pieces, mushrooms, chicken, 3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, and spinach mixture. Spoon remaining soup mixture over layers. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese and remaining 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight to allow lasagna noodles to absorb liquids.

To serve: Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven 55 to 60 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand about 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

Yield: about 12 servings

Enjoy! I may have to make lasagna for dinner tonight if I can’t talk the Love-Of-My-Life into springing for dinner at this romantic little Italian place that we like.