What's Cooking? How About Chicken Lasagna Florentine

We stayed in on Valentine’s Day. It’s a tradition that began after the birth of our first child. 

I should mention that she was one grouchy baby.  With no babysitter in sight, we realized that bringing our screaming “bundle of joy” into a crowded restaurant and potentially garnering angry looks from fellow diners might very well put a damper on that warm and fuzzy, love-laden, Valentine’s Day bliss for all parties involved. In fact, it sounded downright stressful! 

And so we stayed in. I cooked a nice dinner, pressed the linens, put out the china, and lit some candles.   My husband arrived with roses and chocolates.  We pulled up the high chair, gave the kid a chew toy, and enjoyed our first Valentine's Day as a little family.

These days, that screaming baby is a precocious 6-year-old with a 3-year-old sister. While we have developed a list of trusted babysitters over the years,  the Valentine’s-dinner-at-home tradition has stuck. We actually look forward to spending Valentine’s night at home now.

I still make the table “fancy” with linen and china and candles. With the help of my daughters, we decorate the dining room with handmade Valentines and then cook dinner together. As if on cue, my husband arrives with an armload of any combination of balloons, teddy bears, candy, and/or flowers for “his girls.” Once the excitement wears off and the children stop shrieking and bouncing around, we all sit down to a cozy, candlelight dinner.  It truly is very sweet.

Sometimes I go all-out for this meal, making and shaping my own pasta and creating complicated sauces from scratch.  But this year,  I made something that looks, sounds, and tastes like it took a lot of effort to create, but was really pretty simple to throw together:  

Chicken Lasagna Florentine

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small bite-sized pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

2 cups spinach leaves, chopped

1 cup button mushrooms, sliced

10 ¾ oz. can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

½ cup pecans, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add to heated skilled with garlic.  Stir-fry the chicken until no longer pink. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the Cheddar, spinach, mushrooms, soup, and sour cream.
2. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange 3 of the lasagna noodles in the dish. Top with chicken mixture. Spread evenly over the noodles. Repeat layers, ending with the chicken mixture on top. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and pecans.
3. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more or until bubbly and golden brown on top. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

To make ahead: Assemble lasagna, then cover and refrigerate. Before baking, remove from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Bake according to the recipe directions.

If you're in a rush, try these time saving tricks:

*Pick up a rotisserie chicken from your grocer’s deli and chop 2 cups of the white meat, instead of cooking chicken breasts.

*Substitute frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained and canned mushrooms, also drained to cut time spent chopping fresh vegetables.

A taste tip:

*If you have an aversion or allergy to mushrooms, try adding cut-up, oil-packed, sun-dried tomatoes instead.

What's for dessert?  Chocolate Lava Cakes and Malley’s chocolate covered strawberries!  

Happy cooking!

See more of Krista's recipes on her blog.