# New Chicken Pasta Recipe is new for me, though I have t



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Nov 14, 2004)

This recipe is new for me, though I have to imagine that others have made similar dishes.

I had some left over, cooked, whole-wheat lasagna noodles in the freezer and needed something to do with them.  I didn't want traditional lasagna, rich with cheeses, herbs, tomatoes, etc.  So I put a bit of EVOO in the bottom of a square caserole dish.  I covered the bottom with a single layer of noodles.  I then put a layer of thinly sliced fresh mushrooms over the noodles.  The mushrooms were followed by thinly sliced raw chicken, and a sprinkling of chicken soup base and sage.  Dust it with cornstarch.  Lay down more noodels,, mushrooms, and chicken.  Again season an dust.  repeat until the caserole dish is filled.  Por in about 14 oz. of good chicken stock, cover, and bake at 425 for 40 minutes.

I believe this would have come out even better had I included fresh baby peas, some diced carrot, and onion slices.  But it was very good the way I made it.  It had a rich gravy, thickend by the cornstarch, with great chicken and herb flavor.  The noodles were well flavored as well, absorbing some of the chicken flavor from the gravy.  All in all, it was an unqualified success.  

Let me know if any of you has a similar, or better recipe, maybe adding some grated parmesan or something.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Audeo (Nov 14, 2004)

Goodweed, I'd bet that was good!  And I agree with your future inclusion of peas and carrots and onions.  (Frankly, I don't think I even know how to cook anything without onions, candy excluded!)  I, too, enjoy often wafting toward the "lighter" side of Italian and will nix the ricotta in a heartbeat for tofu (it's really a fantastic sub....try it!).  But this concoction of yours sounds warm, homey and downright good to me.  The only potential addition would be romano/parmesan between the layers or on top.  Ah, but that would have compromised the low-fat nature of this delicacy which you have described -- I love whole wheat noodles!


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Nov 14, 2004)

I often use silken tofu in fruit smoothies, and it also works great as an impromptu thickener for cream-style soups.  I've used it in hot and wour soup, and cut it into thin strings to replace the egg in egg-drop soup (just an experiment, but it was pretty good tasting).  Tofu is great in lasagna, and works in most brothy soups.  It's great with pastas that are lightly tossed with EVOO, herbs, and a bit of Asiago or Parmesan Cheese.  It's also great in many salads, but not all.

When you know how to use it, tofu is good stuff indeed.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## Audeo (Nov 15, 2004)

Yes it is, goodweed...and so are whole wheat noodles, my current near obsession!


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## JRsTXDeb (Nov 15, 2004)

Goodweed - or anyone....if you had the no-cook lasagna noodles - how would that change the amount of stock/liquid you use - or would it be the same?  I have some in the cupboard and I'm trying to empty it before I have to pack and move again.
thinking about the veggies - you could put just about anything in there - zucchini, thin sliced plum tomatoes and onions for a light Italian taste - with some fresh basil in summertime....I do believe you have created a keeper!  geez, I wish my family would eat more veggies....


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Nov 16, 2004)

When you use no-boil lasagna noodles, make the sauce fairly soupy, but not watery.  In other words, make is a very liquid sauce. with stronger than normal seasonings.  Some ot the flavors, and most of the liquid will be absorbed by the noodles.  And if your lasagna is jam packed with cheeses, olives, mushrooms, meat, and onions, the herbs will have to be strong enough to stand and be counted.

Make sure to cover your lasagna as it's baking, to keep as much moisture as possible, also to avoid drying out the top layer. 

There should be a general recipe on the noodle box, that will give you a starting point for how much liquid to add to your sauce.  Then you can alster the ingredients as you like.  

Good luck.  And in the words of a song I know, "You can Do it!"

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## dolphinesque (Dec 10, 2004)

I made the chicken lasagne tonight and added onions and zucchini ......it was so delicious I will  be making it again


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## Claire (Jan 9, 2005)

Haven't made any kind of lasagna in years.  Now you have me going.  I once threw a Christmas party and made three kinds of lasagna -- one a (to me) traditional red sauce/Italian sausage with tons of cheese; one a seafood lasagna, and in honor of a friend with diverticulitis and one who was vegan, a vegetable one sans fromage, which was harder.  Didn't realize tofu would be a good sub.  The main thing with veggies is you must work hard to drain, even squeeze, the vegs or you'll have a watery mess.  

Am I the only weird one?  I grew up on lasagna with cottage cheese instead of ricotta (which wasn't widely available in my youth), and have gotten so that I prefer it.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jan 10, 2005)

I too prefer the rich and moist texture of cottage cheese.  Ricotta wasn't available to my parents, or my sister wehn I was young either.  And My wife's family used cottage cheese as well.  In fact, I didn't even know that ricotta was the traditional cheese for lasagna until much older (I'd propbably been married for ten years before I discovered that fact).

Cottage cheese also gives a creamier texture.  So, I'm with you , Claire.  Oh, and you have to try a good Muenster in your lasagna.  The flavor just compliments the other ingrediets.  I also love it on Pizza.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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