for joy

chicken pesto lasagna

8 to 12 lasagna noodles

1 pound mozzerella cheese

1/4-1/2 pound parmesan cheese

4 chicken breasts

2 cups fresh baby spinch

1 cup fresh basil pesto (store-bought or homemade)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried basil

3 cups chicken broth

1 quart cottage cheese

1 egg, beaten



in a large saute pan or pot, saute chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder until cooked through. remove from pan and dice into bite-size pieces. set aside.



get noodles boiling in water. turn off the burner when noodles are al dente, and leave them in the pot.



while noodles are boiling, mix cottage cheese with egg. set aside. grate mozzerella and parmesan. set aside. wash and dry spinach.



melt butter in the saute pan that you cooked the chicken in, then whisk in the flour, salt, pepper, and basil. slowly whisk in chicken broth, and cook while stirring until it thickens like a gravy and it at a boil. add cooked chicken and combine.



in a buttered 9x13 dish, layer the ingredients in the following order, beginning with the noodles:



noodles (4 to 6 to each layer, depending size of noodles)

chicken mix

pesto

cottage cheese mix

spinach

mozzarella

parmesan



do this layering process a second time, beginning with the noodles and ending with the parmesan. bake 45 minutes at 375 degrees.