Chicken & Spinach Lasagna

I love lasagna.   It would be fair to say, actually, that I absolutely adore all things Italian.  Carbohydrates are among my greatest weaknesses.  I could eat pasta, pizza, and breads of any type all day every day.  No exaggeration.  Those restaurants that serve all-you-can-eat bread at the beginning of your meal (think Olive Garden or Johnny Carino's) are my most favorite places in the world to eat.  Anyway, I love a good old fashion lasagna filled with beef or sausage, but I have also fallen in love with this recipe.  It is still a red sauce lasagna, but with a slight twist.  Instead of the traditional browned sausage or beef, this is filled with shredded chicken.  Add that to the feta, mozzarella cheese, and creamy ricotta/cottage cheese/spinach mixture, and you have a winning combination.  My husband Jason was never a lasagna lover (when he was young, he hated anything made with noodles!  Weirdo!!), so I was a little nervous for his reaction when I served this up the first time.   Turns out, I had no need to fear...he loved it and has since asked for it many times!  We really love this lasagna and I think you will too!

Chicken and Spinach Lasagna
*This recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups cooked chicken, so plan accordingly.  I usually just boil my chicken breasts with some broth and then shred when it is done.  I know there are several other popular methods like this one or this one.  To make your life even easier, you could simply shred a store-bought rotisserie chicken.

1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, chopped
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
9-12 uncooked lasagna noodles
3 1/2 cups cooked, chopped or shredded chicken
4 cups favorite pasta sauce
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 cups packed shredded mozzarella
dried or fresh parsley for garnishing (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, cottage cheese, spinach and egg, oregano and black pepper.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  Prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions.  Drain.  Rinse with cold water and drain again.  Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.  To assemble lasagna, spoon 1 cup of sauce over bottom of pan.  Arrange 4 lasagna noodles, 3 lengthwise, 1 crosswise,  (I never use the crosswise noodle and it works great), over sauce.  Top noodles with another 1 cup of sauce, followed by 1/3 of the chicken, 1/3 of the feta, and 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Arrange 4 more lasagna noodles (or 3, if you choose), followed by 1 cup of sauce, 1/3 of the chicken, all of the ricotta/spinach mixture, 1/3 of the feta, and 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Repeat layering with 3 or 4 more noodles, sauce, chicken, feta, and mozzarella.  Sprinkle with parsley over the top.  Cover loosely with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for 5 more minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Recipe Source:  Adapted from Taste of Home

I linked up to these great blogs:

Addicted to Recipes
Mom's Test Kitchen
Jam Hands
Skip To My Lou
Pint Sized Baker
Inside BruCrew Life
Reasons To Skip the Housework
My Girlish Whims
Lil' Luna