Easy, Economical Chicken Lasagna Casserole

This is based loosely around Annie’s Chicken and Spinach Lasagna.

You will need:

1 large can of chicken breast meat, drained well
1 can of sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 large can Hunt’s Traditional Spaghetti Sauce (the big one)
12 oz cottage cheese – I used low-fat
1 egg
6-8 Lasagna noodles – use the “cooks in the pan” kind, not the “boil first” kind
1 cup shredded mozarella cheese, divided in half

Italian Seasonings (Parsley, Basil, Oregano)
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

1 2-quart ceramic casserole dish (I love my Pyrex)
Large skillet of some kind

Heat the skillet over medium high heat with 1 TBSP olive oil.  Saute onions for a minute or two until they start to turn clear.  Add chicken and cook for another minute, until starting to brown.  Add garlic and mushrooms, cook for another minute (DO NOT LET THE GARLIC BURN).  Add 2/3-3/4 of the can of tomato sauce, put the rest in a container and freeze for individual spaghetti serving some other day.  Heat until just boiling, and then add in herbs.  I used about 1 TBSP each fresh parsley and basil, and about 1 tsp fresh oregano.

In a bowl, mix cottage cheese, egg, and half cup of mozarella thoroughly.

Now for the fun part!  In your casserole dish, place a good ladleful of the sauce to coat the bottom of hte dish (this keeps your noodles from becoming cement on the bottom of your casserole dish).  Then a layer of noodles (two for each layer was all I needed).  Then 1/3 of the cottage cheese mixture, spread out.  Then 1/3 of the sauce.

Repeat twice, until you have on top a final layer of sauce.  Sprinkle with the other 1/2 cup of mozarella cheese.

Bake covered at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes (until bubbly on the edges) and then uncovered for another 10 minutes to brown the cheese.