White Chicken Alfredo Lasagna

Here's the story: I love lasagna. I love white sauce. I love chicken... I love spinach. So, pretty much, this lasagna is the perfect combination. I combined a few different recipes in search of the perfect recipe... and I think it turned out pretty fantastic.

White Chicken Alfredo Lasagna
2 tsp. olive oil
1 pkg. lasagna noodles
1/2 c. butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. milk
4 cups shredded mozzarella
1 1/4 cups grated parmesan
3 tsp. fresh basil
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 cups ricotta cheese
2+ cups chicken meat (I used rotisserie chicken, because it's easy and delicious)
1-lb. bag spinach
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, and add lasagna noodles. Add a little bit of olive oil to keep noodles from sticking together. Drain, rinse with cold water, and add a bit of olive oil again. You really don't want these noodles sticking together.

The original recipe called for frozen spinach, but I say fresh is ALWAYS better. 

While the noodles are boiling, rinse and dry the spinach. Remove stems from spinach leaves. Add 2 tsp. olive oil to a large saucepan, and cook spinach until bright green & tender. (For a good tutorial on cooking spinach, go here.) Add salt to taste.

The last part you will need to make before putting the lasagna together is the white sauce. This sauce is GOOD. You could definitely just eat it out of the pan. Start by melting the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion & garlic in the butter until tender. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes. Season with basil, oregano, and ground black pepper (keep a bit of the fresh basil to sprinkle on top of the lasagna). Add more salt to taste, if desired. Remove from heat. Set aside about 1 cup of the sauce (enough for the top of the lasagna), then add the chicken to the rest.

Be liberal with the noodles and cheese for best results.

You may layer however you want. I prefer to be especially liberal on the NOODLES and CHEESE. This is about how I ended up layering: put a tiny bit of the chicken-less sauce on the bottom to keep from sticking, then start with a layer of noodles. Add ricotta, chicken sauce, spinach, cheese, noodles - and repeat until your pan is full. Finish with a layer of noodles, topped with the rest of the chicken-less sauce, and a hefty portion of mozzarella & parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with fresh basil & parsley. Bake 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven. This lasagna was especially tasty with these parmesan knots on the side. Enjoy!