Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna

Today's post is brought to you by Pinterest.  I freakin' LOVE Pinterest because it gives you so many good ideas for so many different things.  I've pretty much stopped searching the internet for new recipes because my Pinterest friends post enough delicious looking stuff that I want to try. Seriously, go look at my Pinterest food section.  Drooling yet?

While I haven't made everything that I have collected on there so far, I have made an effort to try at least one thing on there a week.  A few weeks ago Jason and I tried some grilled Brussels sprouts with an aoili dipping sauce that was delicious, but I need to snag the picture from him so that people know what the food really turns out like.  That's the one thing I hate about cookbooks.  No ones food ever turns out that pretty.  Let's be real.  

Anyway, on with the food!

This weeks venture was Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna, which was adapted from Tasty Tidbits.  I am usually not a fan of noodle recipes that require working with the noodles (like stuffed shells or lasagna noodles) because they always break or something else tragic happens.  But, I am a fan of cheese, and artichokes, so I thought I would give it a try.  This is a sauceless recipe, as well as not including ricotta cheese, which was ok by me because I think ricotta has a funky texture, (I'll eat it anyway) but it is a super creamy, and super deliciously cheesy recipe.  How can I go wrong?

It was a little pricier than I'd like it to be, but some of the more expensive ingredients (see: sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, which cost us almost $10 for an 8oz jar) can be used for several recipes as we only used about 1/3 of the jar.  It turned out delicious!  Even Mr. I-Hate-Casseroles liked it.  Unfortunately I didn't have any fresh basil so I ended up using dried, which I am sure impacted the flavor a bit, so I would definitely recommend making the effort to find some fresh stuff, but it was still incredibly delectable.  It made at least 6 very hearty sized-portions, and I'm sure you would be able to get 8 or more out of it if you included a side salad or bread.

Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna

Ingredients

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts 

1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, chopped 

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes 

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened 

1 cup milk 

1/2 tsp. garlic powder 

1/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil, chopped

12 lasagna noodles, cooked

Directions

HEAT oven to 350°F.

COMBINE chicken, artichokes, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan and tomatoes. Beat cream cheese, milk and garlic powder with mixer until well blended; stir in basil. Mix half with the chicken mixture. 

SPREAD half the remaining cream cheese mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with 3 noodles and 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Repeat layers of noodles and chicken mixture twice. Top with remaining noodles, cream cheese mixture and mozzarella; cover. 

BAKE 30 min. or until heated through. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve.