Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Presto Pasta Night: Quick and Light Chicken Ham Lasagna

I've been having a crazy cooking week!

Between the Daring Bakers Cinnamon Buns (you have checked all the Daring Bakers buns haven't you??!!), working on a few recipes from a couple new cookbooks I promised to review for an upcoming post, perfecting my BrownieBabe recipe (I'm all ready so bring it on!), and having friends over for dinner last night to taste my first attempt at Indian cooking (my Naan - not so great, my Lamb Korma - success!), I've been living in my kitchen and I've not been this happy in a very long time!

Monday night was the only night where I felt rushed but I really wanted something hearty but light for dinner. So, I turned to an old standby recipe for a down and dirty quick lasagna, a recipe from Cooking Light for Chicken-Ham Lasagna.

I really like this dish and by using a store bought rotisserie chicken and using the "no boil" lasagna noodles, you can have this dish made, in and out of the oven in less then 45 minutes. Like a lot of the dishes I make, I've added a few things to the recipe, .sliced white button mushrooms sauteed in a bit of olive oil and garlic and oregano.

Served with a small side salad and glass of apple toned Riesling and this was the perfect light but tasty way to start my whirlwind kitchen week off on a yummy foot and the perfect entry for the amazing Ruth of Once Upon a Feast's stellar event Presto Pasta Night.



Chicken-Ham Lasagna
(adapted from Cooking Light)
Serves 4

1 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
3/4 cup store bought rotisserie chicken (remove bones and skin), shredded
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup light cream
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tsp oregeno
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup sliced white button mushrooms
Cooking spray
6 no-cook lasagna noodles, divided
3/4 cup thinly sliced 96% fat-free deli ham, chopped, divided

Preheat oven to 350°. In large skillet, heat olive oil until shimmering and saute mushrooms until translucent. Add oregano and garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat and set aside mushrooms. Place broth and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the large skillet over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Combine milk, cream, flour, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl; stir well with a whisk until smooth. Add milk mixture to broth in pan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Add chicken and mushrooms to sauce, stir until combined.

Spread 1/4 cup sauce over bottom of a 9 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 2 lasagna noodles over sauce. Spoon 1/2 cup sauce evenly over noodles. Top evenly with 1/2 of the chopped ham. Repeat once and ending with final 2 noodles. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Cover with foil very lightly coated with cooking spray; bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove and discard foil; bake until the cheese lightly browns. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Calories: 280 Fat: 8g Carbs: 19g