Intro to Cooking: Alfredo Lasagne

By Michelle

Mmm. Lasagne. Now, if only you could make a smaller batch…that was healthy…

Oh wait, you can!

My love affair with lasagne didn’t start off so sweet. I used to hate it, mostly because I only ever saw it in a school cafeteria setting. It was disgusting and old looking. Not appetizing to the average 8-year-old. As I got older, though, I learned to make it for myself and, unfortunately, I learned to make it in the time consuming fashion. I chalked it up as one of those dishes I would make for special times, when I had the right amount of time and patience.

Fast forward to last week and I decided to switch things up. If I could make myself a tiny pan of lasagne that wasn’t quite so…heavy…I could make it just as quickly as spaghetti or microwaving a Lean Cuisine.

I started with my favorites: chicken and spinach. As I’ve mentioned countless times before, spinach is a super food and eating more of it will only benefit you. Also, it’s almost entirely flavorless and if you wilt it into soups and sauces, you won’t even know it’s there. It’s basically the best leafy green veg on the planet. Chicken is one of the healthier proteins out there – you get animal protein without a ton of fat and cholesterol. Plus, chicken is pretty cheap. This recipe definitely won’t break the bank…or your diet.

Alfredo Lasagne

You’ll need…

• 1 chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (you can also use leftover chicken or turkey)
• about 1/4 tub of Philadelphia cooking cream, in the Parmesan or garlic herb flavor
• about 1/4 package of spinach, chopped
• about 1/4 onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 4 lasagne sheets
• about 1/4 cup of shredded smoked mozzarella cheese

How to make it…

Prepare a small baking dish (I use a small loaf pan!) by spraying it with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add noodles. When they are flexible, remove from water and place on a plate for later. Set aside.

In a frying pan, spray a bit of nonstick cooking spray. Cook the chicken, onions and carrots until cooked through, or slightly brown and tender. Add spinach and allow to wilt down – this will only take a few seconds. Add a few dollops of cooking cream until you have the desired thickness (I prefer a thicker sauce). Grab your backing dish and spoon a tiny amount of the sauce into the bottom. Top with two noodles (or enough noodles to cover the bottom of the dish, sometimes I have to tear one in half). Top the noodles with half the sauce. Cover with more noodles, then add the rest of the sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese.

Place in the over and bake for about 10-15 minutes until set and the cheese on top is melted and yummy looking. I usually place a cookie sheet underneath it, in case it boils over.

Note: this recipe serves 1 very hungry person or 2 hungry people!