Recipe(tried): Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

We had this for dinner last night and greatly enjoyed it. Of course, the non-cheese-eater of our household was not home for dinner...so we got to indulge!

Cheers!

Carolyn!

BUFFALO CHICKEN LASAGNA
Makes 6 generous portions

9 dried lasagna noodles
boiling water
SAUCE INGREDIENTS:
olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, diced
2 cups cooked chicken meat, chopped (about 1 lb)
pinch or two of chipotle or cayenne pepper
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP Thai red curry paste
1 quart (or a bit less, I had a bit too much sauce) tomato sauce (I used Prego pasta sauce, or you could make your own)
1 1/2 cups water or stock (I used a bit of both)
3 TBSP hot sauce (Louisiana-style)
CHEESEY LAYER:
1 egg, beaten
16 oz ricotta or cottage cheese
box of frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and all moisture squeezed out

1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated (or pizza blend)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Set kettle of water to boil, and when boiling, pour over the lasagna noodles (in a large bowl), to completely cover them, while preparing the rest of the recipe. I try to throw in a couple of extra, just to make sure I have enuf, even if they stick together.

Saute onion, and then garlic, in a bit of olive oil, in a pan large enuf to hold all the sauce. Add in diced red pepper, cook to soften a bit. Add chicken, sprinkle with hot pepper of your choice (I used chipotle, gotta love that smoky flavour!), then add and stir to combine all the rest of the sauce ingredients. Bring up to a boil, then down to a simmer while you get the rest of the recipe together.

Set lasagna noodles to drain, and stir together ricotta/cottage cheese with the beaten egg and spinach. Stir to combine, and season with black pepper. Grate and crumble both mozzarella and blue cheeses, set them aside (separately) for later in the assembly process.

ASSEMBLY:
Spread dibs and dabs of sauce in the bottom of the lasagna pan.
Layer 3 lasagna noodles, side by each.
Cover with a generous amount of sauce, a layer of ricotta mixture (1/2), and a generous sprinkle of mozzarella (1/2).
Do the above again, and then top with the last three lasagna noodles and as much sauce as the pan will hold.

Bake, loosely covered. at 375F for about 45 minutes. Remove cover, sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese, and bake for another 10 or 15 minutes, until cheese is nicely melted.

I served this with tender celery hearts, for the genuine chicken wing experience.

A little something different to do with leftover chicken!