White Lasagna Dinner with Chicken and Veggies

I love cream sauce, and this lasagna uses a much more healthy cream sauce than you’d find in a restaurant; it’s made with a lot less butter and more chicken broth. I also use two layers of eggplant instead of two layers of what would normally be lasagna noodles. Between the eggplant, spinach, and broccoli, you get a full serving of veggies. Bonus!

White sauce:

• 1  1/2 TBS butter 
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/3-1/2 c flour 
• 1 c skim milk 
• 2 1/2 c chicken broth 
• 1/4 c grated Asiago 

Melt butter and add crushed garlic, cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add 1/3 c flour and whisk; it won’t all dissolve. Slowly add milk and whisk all lumps out. It will become the consistency of very thick gravy. Add broth and whisk; bring to a simmer and cook whisking constantly until thickened - about 10 minutes. It should be about the consistency of béchamel. If it looks too thin, add a little more flour, or cornstarch will work also. Remove from stove, add Asiago and whisk well. Set aside.

After adding flour to the butter and garlic

Lasagna:

• 6 no-boil lasagna noodles 
• 1 large eggplant, sliced into about 1/4 inch slices, grilled or roasted
• 2 medium broccoli bunches cut into small pieces, sautéed 
• 1 9oz bag spinach, sautéed and drained well
• 3/4 lb shredded chicken 
• 2 c fat free cottage cheese 
• 2 eggs 
• 4 c shredded low fat mozzarella 
• Grated Asiago or Parmesan for the top

I use leftover rotisserie chicken and shred it, which cuts out the extra step of cooking the chicken first. Add some of the sauce to the chicken — just enough so that it’s wet, and set aside. In a small bowl, beat 2 eggs and add the cottage cheese, mix well and set aside.

Pour a little of the white sauce on the bottom of a greased lasagna pan. You just want a thin layer, don’t use a ton. Put three lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pan.

Spread the broccoli over the noodles. Spread a third of the cottage cheese mix by spoonfuls as evenly as you can over the broccoli, about a cup of the mozzarella, and a little less than a cup of the white sauce.

First layer of noodles, broccoli, cheeses,
and half of the first eggplant layer

Use half of the grilled eggplant to create another layer. Distribute the chicken mix evenly over the eggplant, followed by half of the remaining cottage cheese mix, a layer of mozzarella and white sauce.

Cover with three remaining lasagna noodles. Distribute the spinach evenly over the noodles, followed by the rest of the cottage cheese mix, a layer of mozzarella and more of the sauce. Distribute the last of the eggplant on top, pour the rest of the sauce evenly, and cover with a layer of mozzarella. I grated some Asiago on the top too for an added flavor.

Cook covered with foil for 30 minutes on 350, then uncovered for another 10. Let rest for 10 after you take it out of the oven.

Cut into 8 servings (one of which is plenty, even for me) this comes out to 425-450 calories per serving.  It makes great leftovers reheated for lunch!

You should probably let your dog lick
every single bowl you’ve used