lasagna Archives - Ari's Menu

Easy, healthy, cheesy and delicious lasagna baked chicken breast is the perfect dinner to get your new year started off right! All the taste and comfort of lasagna in a healthy chicken entree that comes together before you know it.

If there’s one thing that drives me crazy (okay, there’s probably, like, a zillion…), it’s the idea that healthy eating means you can’t eat your favorite things. Before I was finally successful with my weight loss, I had so many failed attempts because each time I felt like I couldn’t eat anything, and it’s just not true. It’s just about finding ways to make your favorite things fit into your healthy lifestyle, and this chicken does just that!

Lasagna has to be the ultimate comfort food. With melty, gooey cheese and pasta you really can’t go wrong, but I honestly have never felt like pasta even adds much to a dish. It is the vehicle for cheese and sauce. I’m happy just eating cheese and sauce. By themselves. With a spoon. But I guess I should eat protein or something too.

I love stuffing chicken. It’s one of my favorite, easy ways to make my dinner more fun without having to do much. Chicken on its own can quickly become boring and monotonous, but there are so many fun varieties and flavor combinations you can use to dress it up a little. I just made my favorite lasagna filling, butterflied the chicken, stuffed that cheesy goodness inside, then baked it. Finish it off with a little mozzarella, stick it under the broiler to get brown and bubbly, and top it off with your favorite marinara sauce. Mine came from a bottle because, like I said, I am a totally lazy cook.

The result was total cheesy dreaminess, and I literally haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

Lasagna Baked Chicken

Author: Ari Ziskin

Recipe type: Entree

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 40

Ingredients

4 large chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup part skim ricotta cheese
½ cup nonfat cottage cheese
1 teaspoon dried or finely chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon dried or finely chopped fresh basil
1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella
1 cup marinara sauce (or more if desired)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Season both sides of each chicken breast with salt and pepper. Butterfly each chicken breast then set aside.
To make the filling, combine ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, oregano and basil in a medium bowl. Fill the center of each chicken breast with cheese mixture and fold the top half of the chicken back over on top. Make sure chicken can fold back over completely, and that cheese isn't spilling out. Depending on the size of your chicken breasts, you may have some cheese mixture left over.
Carefully place filled chicken breasts in a large, rimmed baking dish and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Bake until chicken is completely cooked and juices run clear. This will vary depending on thickness, but I usually start to check around 20 minutes. You do not want to over cook them.
Top with mozzarella cheese and broil until cheese is bubbly, about 2 minutes. Watch closely--it can burn quickly. Plate and top with marinara sauce. Serve immediately. Leftovers may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

All the flavor and comfort of hearty lasagna in a healthy, gluten-free spaghetti squash dish that will have everyone asking for seconds! Looking for more spaghetti squash recipes? I have lots!

Today Mean Green and I had our first fight. We’ll call it the new stop sign’s fault, but Steve stopped short, I ran into his bike and flew off mine. Luckily I didn’t slide so I just walked away with some bruises, and Mean Green is a tough cookie–she barely got scraped! It was scary, but it had to happen sometime, and I’m glad it happened when the street wasn’t busy (ummm I ended up in the middle of it laying on the ground–traffic could have been a very bad thing), and when my husband was there to pick me back up.

In other exciting and much happier news, I attended and spoke at Blended Conference this weekend! It was a total blast, and I learned a TON! Maureen gave a great presentation on the business of blogging. Christine gave an incredible presentation (literally so.much.information) on Pinterest. Kimberley gave an awesome presentation on building an Instagram community. Nicole and I spoke again on video blogging (to a truly incredible response!), then there were break out discussions, and the day ended with a panel led by Wendy, Nicole, Christine and me on food photography/how to get exposure on sights such as Foodgawker and Tastespotting. I also finally got to meet Stephanie who I’ve known through our blogs and her gooooorgeous food for quite a while now. It was a whirlwind, but I had a really amazing time! Wendy & Wendy did an incredible job putting everything together!

So that was my eventful weekend. After all of that, I just kind of feel like doing absolutely nothing except for lounging on the couch watching Orange is the New Black (just started it, and I, like, REALLY love it!), and eating comfort food. Fall and winter are all about comfort foods for me, and comfort food always includes cheese. Duh.

I always thought lasagna was super intimidating, but my bestie and college roommate Heather taught me how to make it, and I used a lightened up version of her recipe for years. It’s simple, easy, great to freeze in bulk and always a hit. I wanted to change it up a little bit, and I was looking for a new way to use my beloved spaghetti squash, so I stuffed it with lasagna filling. Seriously people, I don’t know why I ever bothered with real noodles.

Between the spicy turkey sausage, the bold meat sauce, creamy ricotta cheese, and brown and bubbly (yes, it went back in the oven for extra love half way through the shoot) mozzarella cheese, I promise you don’t miss the noodles at all. In fact, I prefer the spaghetti squash texture, and I love getting a huge serving of veggies without having to cook them up as a side dish. You guys will love this new twist on lasagna–all the bold flavors you love while eating comfort food you can feel good about eating!

Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Serving Size: 1 squash half

Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Hearty, comforting lasagna in a light, satisfying and veggie-packed dinner.

Ingredients

2 medium spaghetti squash
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
20 oz 99% lean ground turkey breast (you can also use the 93-94% or 96% lean ground beef)
1/4 lb chicken or turkey sausage, sliced
1 lb can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried or finely chopped fresh oregano, divided
2 teaspoons dried or finely chopped fresh basil, divided
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup nonfat cottage cheese
1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400. Slice spaghetti squash length wise and scrape out the seeds. Rub 1/4 tbsp olive oil into each squash half and season with salt and pepper. Place each spaghetti squash half face down in a large baking dish and bake for 40-60 min. When squash is done, middle will be tender and pull apart easily.
In a large pan, sautee onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until fragrant. Add ground turkey. Season with a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook until browned. Add sausage, crushed tomato and 1 teaspoon each basil and oregano. When sauce starts to bubble, reduce heat to a simmer until thickened (about 3-4 minutes).
Meanwhile, combine ricotta and cottage cheese in a medium bowl. Season with 1 teaspoon each basil and oregano. Add a pinch each of salt and pepper. Lightly mix until combined.
When spaghetti squash is fully cooked, flip in the baking dish so that it is now skin side down. Evenly divide ricotta mixture between each squash half. Repeat with meat sauce. Top each half with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
Turn oven to broil, and cook for an other 2 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbling. This happens very quickly–make sure to watch closely, otherwise it can burn easily. Serve immediately. Leftovers may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week.

Notes

The sauce is very forgiving. Add/subtract whatever spices you like to get your desired flavor. I used a spicy (pre-cooked) chicken sausage, but you can use whatever flavor you like.

http://www.arismenu.com/lasagna-stuffed-spaghetti-squash/

Lasagna Baked Chicken

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