Tex Mex Chicken Lasagna

Howdy!

I created this recipe around 3:00 a.m. in the morning. I knew I wanted to make lasagna but I did not want the standard lasagna with the tomato based sauce.

My baby girl does not like lasagna with red sauce so I had to  improvise. She also does not like ricotta cheese, so the goal was to find a way to sneak it in the dish, mission accomplished.

My daughter loves macaroni and cheese and she loves to eat the cheese sauce right out the pot, like fondue as she always says. I decided to take my bechamel mac and cheese sauce and turn it into a lasagna.

 But best of all I decided to add roasted peppers and onions and Tex-Mex it up!

I used chicken thighs because I figured chicken breast would dry out. The chicken thighs were lightly browned for about 3-4 minutes on each side and allowed to cook before chopping.

The sauce was created with heavy cream, milk, ricotta, jack, cheddar and Parmesan cheese. The minced roasted peppers were added and the chicken was added back to the sauce to simmer for about 5 minutes. 

Allow the lasagna to rest, unlike I do, to prevent the lasagna from breaking apart. I would say about 20-30 minutes before serving. I have not eaten today so, excuse me, I am cutting it.

You can also prepare the lasagna the day before, refrigerate and bake the next day.

You all know what time it is! Let's Eat.

Tex Mex Chicken Lasagna

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 8-10

Ingredients:

3 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
1 small red onion, skin removed,  cut in half
1 small white onion, skin removed, cut in half
1 bell pepper
2 stalks celery
1 jalapeno
½ lb. poblano peppers
½ lb. Anaheim peppers
4 cloves garlic
½ c. flour
2 c. heavy cream
2 c. milk
½ bunch Italian parsley
1 lb. jack cheese, grated reserve 1/2 c for sauce
½ lb. cheddar cheese
1 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c.  ricotta cheese
1 box lasagna noodles
Extra virgin olive oil
Non stick cooking spray
aluminum foil

Spice Blend:

1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. creole seasoning
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder

Mix Well

Directions:

Preheat oven to broil.

Put on a large pasta pot of water, bring to boil. Once the water is boiling add about 1 teaspoon of salt to water. To bring water to boil quickly top with a lid but remove lid during the cooking of the pasta.

Rinse chicken, pat dry place in a large bowl and set aside. Mix all seasonings in a small bowl. Sprinkle two tablespoons of the seasoning blend on the chicken and mix well. Refrigerate chicken while you prepare the vegetables.

Place all vegetables except Italian parsley on an oven proof tray. Coat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Mix well and roast all vegetables until slightly charred. Remove from oven and cover with a towel and set aside. Turn oven temperature to 375 degrees.

Remove chicken from refrigerator. In a shallow bowl add flour and 1 tsp. of seasoning blend, mix well. Take the chicken and lightly coat in the flour mixture. In a large pot or skillet heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and brown about 3-4 minutes on each side.

Repeat until all the chicken has been browned. Do not discard flour mixture. Place chicken on a plate and set aside. Note: Chicken is not cooked all the way it will finish cooking in the oven when baked.

Remove skin and seeds of roasted Anaheim, Poblanos and Bell Pepper. Place all roasted vegetables into blender and pulse leaving slightly chunky and set aside.

Take chicken and chop. I like my chicken about 1/2 inch but it is solely up to you. If young children will be eating this dish, chop finely. 

In the pan that the chicken was cooked in add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add remaining flour and whisk well for about 2 minutes over medium heat. Lower heat to medium-low, add parsley and mix well. Pour in chicken broth, milk and cream, whisk well.

Add 1 tablespoon of seasoning blend and mix well. Add Cheddar cheese and 1/2 c. of Parmesan cheese  and 1/2 cup of jack cheese by the handful, blending well after each addition. Whisk in 1/2 c. of ricotta cheese. Add the roasted vegetables and mix well. Add remaining seasonings. Remove about 1 1/2 cups of cream vegetable mixture and set aside. This will be used to top lasagna. Add chicken and juices back to the pot and mix well. Cook  on low heat for about 5-6 minutes.

Add pasta to pot, stir, cook 6 1/2 minutes. Pasta will finish cooking in oven. Drain pasta, rinse in hot water, drain again. Coat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil to prevent sticking.

In a 9 X 13 oven proof casserole dish, spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

To Assemble:

Ladle about 1 cup of the sauce mixture on the bottom of the casserole dish, top with a layer of lasagna noodles, slightly overlap noodles. Top with a third of the sauce mixture, top with jack cheese, repeat with the next layer, ending with a final layer of lasagna noodles on top. Spread remaining sauce on top of lasagna sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and remaining jack cheese.

Spray a large piece of aluminum foil with non stick cooking spray to prevent cheese from sticking. Cover casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for about 15 to 20 more minutes are until browned. Allow to cook slightly before cutting. I cool my lasagna about 20 minutes so it will cut better. Serve warm.