CuteChick Recipe #9 - Chicken Alfredo Lasagna

  Hello everyones!! Today I thought I'd post the recipe for the chicken alfredo lasagna I made last night. Now I will tell you now, this recipe is a bit involved in regards to the prep work & making the sauce. It's what I call a "Sunday dinner dish" since you normally wouldn't have this much time to make it during the week & it's a little pricey as the cheeses are not cheap! But it's a meal that'll last you at least 2 days & oh so good! You may certainly substitute with jarred alfredo sauce to cut some time out. I also cut time out by using the bakeable lasagna noodles as opposed to the traditional boil first kind.

Ingredients
1 16oz box of lasagna noodles
1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cup milk (I used whole)
2 cups shredded parmesan
3/4 stick of butter
3/4 grated parmesan (the kind in the can) set aside 1/4 cup
2 cups of any pre-shredded italian/pizza cheese blend (set aside 1/4 cup)
30oz tub of ricotta cheese
2 boneless chicken breast halves (cubed in 1 inch chunks)
1 strip of bacon  (beef or pork only, if you don't eat either used about 2 tablespoons of olive oil)
1 egg
1 medium shallot (minced)
1/3 cup italian breadcrumbs
1 red pepper (small dice)
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes (drained)
1 14oz frozen broccoli (thawed)
1 strip of bacon
2 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons of minced garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil (vegetable oil is fine also)
Italian seasoning, salt & pepper, garlic powder, onion powder (no exact measurements, you can go off of preferred taste)

Whew! I know that was a lot of ingredients. Let first season the chicken, I did so w/ salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder and italian seasoning....set aside

Time for the sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, cook the strip of bacon until very crispy, once the bacon is done remove & set aside to drain on a papertowel. Add the butter to the pan & melt. Sautee the shallots for about 5 minutes & then add 3tablespoons of the minced garlic & sautee for another 5 minutes. 

Mix in the flour and cook for about 3 minutes. Whisk in your milk & cream until it comes to a boil. Stir constantly so you don't develop a skin on top. 

Reduce your heat to medium once it has come to a boil. Season well w/ salt & pepper. Mix in your shredded parmesan cheese, reduce heat to low & cover. Now it's time to prep your ricotta. In a medium bowl mix, the ricotta, egg & 1/2 cup of the grated parmesan thoroughly & set aside.

In a large skillet, heat about 4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat and sautee the red pepper until soft. Add the remaining minced garlic & cook for another 3 minutes. Add your chicken & cook until done and slightly browned as shown below.

Once the chicken is done, add the drained tomatoes & broccoli and heat through. Season w/ salt & pepper. Drain the liquid from the pan & combine the alfredo & chicken mixture in the skillet like below & remove from heat.

Now it's time to make the actual lasagna! In a deep lasagna pan, ladle about a cup of the sauce mixture to cover the bottom of the pan. Then layer the noodles, ricotta mixture, shredded cheese blend & sauce. Thats the order I did mine in. In a separate bowl, combine the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup grated parmesan, 1/4 cup italian cheese blend & bacon crumbles from earlier. Evenly spread this on the top of lasagna as your topping.

 Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Allow lasagna to sit for at least 20 minutes after baking to set well & enjoy!!