My Ultimate Lasagna: Chicken & Eggplant Lasagna

I almost never eat lasagna in a restaurant as they usually contain beef. It’s not that I dun take beef, I’m just very picky when it comes to beef and only eat beef, when it’s cooked Korean BBQ style. =P. The few times I ate lasagna was when my friends made them. A few years ago, my friend Kristen made a chicken lasagna and a eggplant lasagna and brought them along to our ski trip. They were awesome. I’ve written a bit of her delectable lasagnas HERE. I’ve since been making lasagnas and have attempted making the lasagnas combining both chicken and eggplant into one dish! =) This time, I took the time to write everything down and sharing it here!

It does take up a bit of time to prep the ingredients to built this lasagna. But it’s surely worth the effort! My lasagna is not overly wet as I don’t like my lasagna to be overly soggy or drenched in too much sauce. I like making my own pasta sauce (it’s fairly easy), though you could always use store bought sauces and save yourself some time! =). Don’t let this recipe scare you away from trying it! I use the Barilla’s “No Boiling Required” Lasagna sheets since I don’t want to pre-boil my my pasta or risk ending up with uncooked lasagnas. You should be able to find this pasta at the pasta aisle at your local grocery store!

CHICKEN & EGGPLANT LASAGNA RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb Eggplant
• 1 Lb Chicken Breast (About 2 pcs)
• 4 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 Container (15 Oz) Ricotta Cheese
• 1/3 Cup Grated Parmesan (Add up to 1/2 Cup if desired)
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs
• 1 Cup + 1 Tbsp Oil
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Chopped Parsley
• 1 Package (9oz) Barilla’s (No Boiling Required) Lasagna
• 5-1/2 Cups Red Pasta Sauce (Refer below for recipe)

Method:

Slice eggplant to about 1/2” thick. Spread them on a baking sheet (lined with foil), doused with 1 tbsp of oil and season with salt and pepper. Baked them at 400F for about 15-20 minutes. Set aside.

Heat pan with 1 cup of oil. Slice chicken breast to about 1/2” thick. Coat them in breadcrumbs, and shake off excess. Fry breaded chicken breast for about 2-3 minutes on each side till golden brown. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs then add ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Mix cheese mixture well and set aside. Preheat oven at 350F.

In a 9x13 (and about 2-3 inch deep), pour 1-1/4 cup of sauce, then layer with Lasagna sheets (it’s ok to slightly overlap them). Spread about 1/2 of cheese mixture, arrange chicken pieces (making sure each bite will have some chicken), 1-1/4 cup of pasta sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Then, layer with lasagna sheets, spread remaining cheese mixture, arrange baked eggplants (again, making sure that each bite will have some eggplant), 1-1/4 cup of pasta sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Lastly, layer with remaining pasta sheets (I ended up with one sheet of unused one). Pour remaining sauce over it and top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle parsley and continue baking for about 5-10 minutes or until cheese melts and turns slightly brown. Let pasta cool a bit before serving! This should give you enough pasta for 6 people!

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HOMEMADE RED PASTA SAUCE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
• 1-1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Mushrooms
• 1-1/2 Cup Chopped Onions
• 1/2 Lb Ground Meat
• 1 Large (28 Oz) Can Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp Chopped Parsley
• 1 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Oregano
• 3 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 1-1/2 Cup Water

Method:

In a pot, add garlic, onion and butter. Stir fry till onion is soft and fragrant. Add ground meat, salt, pepper, oregano and stir fry meat while breaking it into pieces. Continue stir fry until meat is cook before adding mushroom. Cook mushrooms until it shrinks, then stir in crushed tomatoes, parsley, sugar and water. Let sauce simmer over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if desired. Set aside sauce to cool. This recipe should yield you about 5-1/2 cup of pasta sauce. You may even use this sauce with spaghetti.

June’s Notes: You can get the canned crushed tomatoes from any of your local grocery store in the US. I usually go for the store brand. =)