Chicken Lasagna

Golden color is so enticing.....

First time I made this, didn't know how it was going to turn out. It was so good, it bacame our favorite lasagna

Getting ready for the next layer....

Here's what you'll need:

1 organic whole chicken, about 3 lbs

4-6 quarts cold water

Salt and pepper to taste

Bunch of rinsed Italian parsley, tied into a bouquet

2 cups shredded mozzarella

2 cups shredded Italian Fontina cheese

1 cup Locatelli grated cheese

1 box Barilla lasagna pasta

Directions:

Boil your whole rinsed, cleaned chicken, after letting it brine in salt and water a minimum of 2 hours in the refrigerator (I let it brine overnight).

Add salt and pepper to boiling water. Add whole bunch of parsley to the simmering chicken. Let simmer for at least 2 hours.

Once chicken is cooked, carefully remove from broth. Place chicken in colander to cool for easy removal of fat and all bones.

The effort here is removing ALL bones, fat, skin and cartilage from chicken. Shred the chicken with impeccably clean hands.

Boil lasagna pasta according to directions on box. Drain and place individually on paper towels on cookie sheet.

Combine cheeses in large bowl, mixing together well.

Arranging Lasagna:

In 13X9 baking pan, ladle broth to cover bottom of pan.

Arrange strips of pasta on bottom layer. Top with shredded chicken, top chicken with 1 cup of cheese mixture. Top with ladle of broth. Repeat with 2 additional layers, ending with pasta and top with broth and remaining cheese.

Bake at 400⁰ in center of oven for approximately 40 minutes and until top is golden. Let it set for a few minutes before cutting.

Serve in coup dishes topping with a layer of broth.

I suggest serving with a green salad.

Let's get baking!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

1 whole thin skinned orange, remove the stem and cut in quarters. Keep the skin on the oranges.

In a clean large food processor, add the orange quarters, 1 1/4 cups of sugar, three large eggs, 1 tsp of vanilla, 1 tsp of orange extract, 1 tbsp of Triple Sec liqueur, optional, 2/3 cup vegetable oil.

Pulse all ingredients in the processor and then puree until mixture becomes a batter with specs of orange peel.

Add to the processor:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Process all dry ingredients until they are entirely incorporated into the batter.

Bake in a greased and floured spring pan, using a parchment paper circle on top of the greased bottom.*

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place in the center rack of the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven.

Remove from your oven and let it cool down completely. Dust with powdered sugar or make a drizzle of 1/4 cup powdered sugar and fresh squeezed orange until thick and smooth. Pour onto the cooled fresh orange cake.

Cooking with Love

with Gianna Conte (Jan)