This lasagna will change your life! Not really traditional yet totally “comfortable”. This twist on a classic uses pan roasted chicken, portobello mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and baby spinach in a white cream sauce as well as fresh pasta sheets. I guarantee your diners will be pleasantly surprised by the creative combination of flavors and unique spin on an all time favorite. Enjoy!!

Ingredients: Feeds 6 – 8

• 2 boneless chicken breasts (approx. 2 lbs)
• olive oil
• salt pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 lb baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 cups low sodium chicken stock, room temp
• 1 cup light cream, room temp
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and julienned
• 4 cups (loose) baby spinach
• cooking spray
• 6 fresh lasagna sheets (9 oz in total, 6×8 in ea. in size)
• 8 oz grated “pizza” cheese
• 6 slices provolone

Directions:

1. Rinse chicken, pat dry and place in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the oregano, garlic powder and paprika and toss to coat.
2. Heat a large enamel coated cast iron saucepan over medium heat. Spray lightly with cooking spray and add chicken. Cook until done (approx. 10 minutes per side) remove, and let rest.
3. Using the same pan, add the onion and mushrooms and sauté in the chicken drippings until cooked down and liquid is almost evaporated (approx. 10 – 15 min).
4. Using a wooden spoon, push mixture towards the edges of the pan and add the butter to the center. Once melted, add the flour and mix to create a paste and incorporate the mushroom mixture.
5. Slowly add the chicken stock and mix to combine. Add the cream and do the same. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and allow sauce to simmer and thicken, stirring occasionally (5 – 10 min).
6. Meanwhile, using two forks, shred the chicken breast into bite sized pieces. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and chicken to the sauce and mix. Carefully fold in the spinach and mix until wilted. Taste and season your sauce with salt and pepper if needed. If sauce is too thick, thin with small amounts of added chicken stock.
7. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Ladle approx. 1/2 cup of just the liquid from the sauce into the bottom of the dish. Lay two pasta sheets on top, covering the entire surface.
8. Next spread about 1/3 of the sauce and solids over the pasta sheets edge to edge. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the pizza cheese and then lay 2 more pasta sheets on top. Repeat this step two more times using up the remaining sauce and solids as well as the pizza cheese. Top everything with six slices of provolone and cover with foil.
9. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 25 min covered. Remove foil and broil at 550 for 5 minutes until cheese bubbles. Let lasagna sit 10 minutes to cool and set before serving.