A different-yet-delicious take on lasagna

While grocery shopping the other night I passed by some rotisserie chickens that smelled particularly good. Before I knew it, I had tossed one in my shopping cart and started formulating a plan to make the following dish using meat from the ready-to-eat bird. Pesto makes everything taste better, including the jars of alfredo sauce that also ended up in my cart. The pesto and alfredo tasted so good together that I found myself sampling the sauce a few times (quality control, right?) while assembling what turned out to be quite a winner of a midweek meal.

Creamy Pesto Chicken Lasagna
2 15-ounce jars alfredo sauce
 ½ cup prepared pesto
 12 oz. bag frozen artichokes, thawed
3 cups cooked chicken meat, diced
9 lasagna noodles
1 bunch spinach, rinsed and chopped
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 cup grated mozzarella (optional)

 Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring large pot of water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8-10 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water. Whisk alfredo and pesto together in a bowl. Pour ¼ cup sauce into 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish. begin layering remaining ingredients, starting with three lasagna noodles and continuing with chicken, spinach, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and sauce. Ingredients should be enough for two layers, topped with three final noodles and sauce. I noted that cheese is optional with this recipe because I think the lasagna has plenty going for it already without the cheese. If you want cheese, sprinkle it on top of the lasagna before covering the dish loosely with aluminum foil. Cheese or no cheese, you’re going to want to bake the lasagna for 30-40 minutes. Remove the lasagna from the oven and allow it to sit for a few minutes before serving.

Quick, easy and veg-friendly weeknight winners

Some of the tastiest meals I came up with during our (now long-forgotten) vegetarian month were quite quick and simple.

For example, I made a speedy tomato sauce that worked well with back-to-back weeknight dinners. All it took was one 28-ounce can of plum tomatoes, one red bell pepper, diced, and a handful of garlic cloves, minced. I crushed the tomatoes by hand and simmered them (and the juice in which they were canned) with the pepper and garlic for a few minutes before puréeing everything.

This sauce tasted great simmered with some sliced Tofurkey Italian Sausage and a can of cannellini beans (rinsed and drained), served atop a huge plateful of spinach which I wilted with a couple dashes of soy sauce and some red pepper flakes.

The sauce tasted equally delicious the next night with Trader Joe’s Meatless Meatballs and whole wheat spaghetti.

Some other successful veg-friendly meals that I’d make again even if I wasn’t trying to avoid meat:

• Trader Joe’s Masala Simmer Sauce heated up with a can of chickpeas and a few handfuls of fresh spinach and poured over brown rice. A piece of masala tandoori naan (also from TJ’s) on the side was great for soaking up the sauce.
• Sandwiches with Trader Joe’s Masala Veggie Patties (toasted in a frying pan), tandoori naan, micro greens and spicy hummus
• Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro, wrapped in wheat tortillas 
• And assembling this trusty lasagna took just a couple minutes without cooking up any Italian sausage.

Kitchen shortcuts result in wonderful lasagna

I've recently discovered no-boil lasagna noodles.

True, there's nothing finer than a well-constructed, made-from-scratch meal. But shortcuts are OK by me.

And being a fan of cutting corners in the kitchen, especially on work nights, I am very happy with how my Quick & Dirty Lasagna turned out. I used some items already housed in the kitchen (noodles, a jar of marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella, Parmesan and mushrooms) and a couple I picked up at the store (Italian sausage and frozen spinach).

From prep to plate this lasagna took less than an hour, only resulted in a handful of dirty dishes, and tasted just as good as lunch the next day. Using an 8-by-8 glass baking dish, this recipe resulted in four hefty servings.

Quick & Dirty Lasagna
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
six no-boil lasagna noodles
24 ounces marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, defrosted
6 ounces white or brown mushrooms, washed and sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown sausage in frying pan over medium heat, using large spoon or spatula to break into crumbles. Remove from heat and drain fat from pan.
Place defrosted spinach in colander, squeezing spinach to remove excess liquid.
Pour 1/4 cup sauce into baking dish. Begin layering remaining ingredients, starting with two lasagna noodles and continuing with spinach, Parmesan, mushrooms, sausage, mozzarella and marinara. Ingredients should be enough for two layers, topped with two final noodles, sauce and mozzarella.
Cover dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil from dish and bake for additional 15-20 minutes, allowing cheese to brown.
Remove lasagna from oven and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.