Necessity is the mother of so many of my recipes. Seriously, if I didn’t have leftover roast or chicken or bones or whatever staring at me from the refrigerator, how many dinners would simply be spaghetti and meatballs? 
I roasted a chicken late one afternoon, but didn’t serve it for dinner. I guess we’d eaten too many snacks or maybe lunch was late that day. Whatever the reason, after the bird came out of the oven, no one felt like eating it. I cut it up, put the carcass in the freezer and popped the meat into the fridge. Two days later, we still hadn’t eaten it and it had to be used or losed (pardon the license I take with our language). This lasagna was what came from my staring with both the freezer and fridge doors open.
Do you do that? Do you stare at your leftovers until an idea comes to you? Do you always follow recipes or do you make things up as you go along? Often I plan ahead, knowing I will have leftovers from a ham, I will plan a few ham casserole-y type meals for the next days. Once in a while, though, as in the case of this chicken, I will get blindsided by unplanned leftovers. When I have time to plan, I use recipes. When I don’t, well, I don’t.
I am afraid my writing is rather muddled today, it must be the spring weather. I keep thinking about bike riding and weeding and other outdoor activities instead of computer work. I also have a candy making cookbook that I need to review. I am predicting a lot of sweets being made this weekend, between trips to the pool and weeding, of course.
Chicken Pot Pie Lasagna
Author: Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
- 1 pound cooked chicken, cubed
- 1 small onion, chopped fine
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp all purpose flour (or sorghum flour for gluten free)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
- 1 12-16 oz pkg lasagna noodles (tinkyada makes gluten free)
- 12 oz frozen mixed vegetables, thawed for 3 minutes in the microwave
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 cups grated cheese (can be Cheddar, Jack, Pepper Jack, Mozzarella, etc)
- 3 cup chicken broth (progresso is gluten free)
- In a large skillet, cook onion in oil on medium heat.
- When it is soft, add the flour, salt, pepper and thyme and cook until slightly golden.
- Add the milk, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened.
- Add the cheese, continuing to stir until smooth.
- Add the chicken and set aside.
- Combine the mixed vegetables, ricotta, egg and garlic powder in another bowl.
- In a greased 9X13 pan, layer a little cheese sauce, then pasta then all of the vegetable mixture, then pasta then all the rest of the chicken mixture then pasta and then top with the last 2 cups of grated cheese.
- Pour the chicken broth all around.
- Tightly cover with a greased piece of foil (so the cheese doesn’t stick to it) and bake at 350 degrees for 1½ to 2 hours.
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