{Special Announcement} & Creamy White Chicken & Artichoke Lasagna

Hello my wonderful readers. Please do not fret and don't drop me from your reader list. It's been awhile since my last food post but I'm still alive and I have been busy cooking away in the kitchen. Actually, Eric and I are excited to announce that we are expecting baby #2! Sometime around May 18th next year, our sweet little Elena will be a big sister! EEKS! We are beyond thrilled to be adding another little foodie to our family.

I have been feeling horrible and constantly tired this second time around with my pregnancy, and if you have noticed the drop in food posts...this is why! I'm so sorry but I have dealt with the worst morning sickness ever and I have given up caffeine, most beef dishes, and any ultra indulgent-tasting foods that might upset my stomach. Plus, taking care of a 7 month year old while pregnant has worn me down quite a bit. I have been cooking...just not blogging as often as I would like. I have been choosing sleep/rest/peace/everything else versus writing on my blog. It's going to be a juggle with two kiddos these coming months, but I plan on blogging at least once a week.

Thank goodness, I'm already in my 2nd trimester and about 17 weeks pregnant. We have seen healthy baby #2 kicking like crazy and also have heard the heartbeat a couple of times, too. If you remember, we had nicknamed Elena "cookie" because we did not know the gender of the baby and this time around we are nicknaming this bun in the oven "cupcake" until we find out the gender later this month. No more gender guessing until the big day!

Anyway, back to this tasty and easy to prepare dish. I found this dish on pinterest and it was one of those hearty meals that my little cupcake was craving at the time. Did you know that you can shred cooked chicken in your stand mixer? Stick them in and turn on the mixer and the chicken shreds them into itsy bitsy pieces. It is a lifesaver if you ask me because you don't have to spend those extra minutes shredding chicken with two forks. This is a fantastic spin on the traditional meaty lasagna and serves plenty. Plus, I love the addition of the artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes in this lasagna because you don't eat the pair often enough in a pasta dish...always in dip form. This would be a great dish to share at any upcoming potlucks that you might be having around the holiday season.

Creamy & yummy!

Creamy White Chicken & Artichoke Lasagna
Adapted from Kraft
ZipList Add Recipe
{Printable Recipe}


Ingredients:
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
14 ounces artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 cup low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped, chiffonade
9 lasagna noodles, no boil noodles

Preparation:

Preheat the oven 350 degrees.

In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine the shredded chicken, chopped artichokes, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes. Mix until combined. Add the milk, ricotta cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasonings and mix until combined. Fold in 2 tablespoon chopped basil.

Layer 2 noodles into a 9x9 baking dish. Spread 1/3 of the chicken mixture on the bottom. Repeat with layers of noodles and chicken mixture 2 more times. Top with remaining noodles and remaining chicken mixture and the rest of the mozzarella cheese. Cover with aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with remaining basil. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

Notes: The original recipe uses cream cheese instead of ricotta cheese, you can easily substitute it. Plus, an easy shortcut - buy store-bought fully-cooked rotisserie chicken to save some time.

Yield: 9 servings
Review: Simply scrumptious. You can make this meal freezer friendly as well. Since we're only a family of 2, we can enjoy half now and freeze the other half for later. It's always a lifesaver when you can pull a home cooked meal out of your freezer.

P.S.
Any guesses on gender yet? This was taken about 3 weeks ago and my "cupcake" bump is a bit bigger than this already!