Case of the Mondays

I started a post last night, but never posted it...so here it is!

Another long day at work (I didn't realize I had not taken my lunch break until 3:45) and I'm finally home to relax, stuff my face, and watch pointless television.  Gerard is off to the west coast today leaving emo dog Rollins and I as each other's dates tonight...and every night until Friday.  But we're used to it.  I was actually a little excited about tonight because I got to stuff my face with leftovers...something Gerard isn't a huge fan of. 

A few weeks ago I was looking for an easy recipe to make for myself, and have to eat on for several days.  I like to try and eat somewhat healthy, but find that to be a challenge since I'm terrified of lighting my hair on fire if I try to grill, or starting a grease fire if I cook on the stove top.  So I really limit myself to baking, using the crock pot, or a Foreman, which I believe I've mentioned before.  But I found this recipe online and decided to give it a whirl.  It had spinach, and chicken...so how could it be that bad?  Bad, not hardly...more like AMAZING.  Maybe I'm biased being the chef and all, but this meal was to die for!  Only problem, I'm pretty sure it could have fed an entire family of 5-8.  So I froze the leftovers, and saved them for a later date...which would be now.

It's a Weight Watchers recipe I found online, and even though I literally have NO IDEA what the points mean, I figured it couldn't be all that bad.  So here ya go...

Weight Watchers Chicken and Spinach Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients:
- 1 sprays cooking spray
- 32 oz Marinara sauce, store-bought
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onions, chopped
- 1 pound uncooked ground chicken breast (I used ground turkey)- 30 oz fat-free ricotta cheese (I used fat free cottage cheese)- 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 9 dry lasagna noodles
- 20 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 ½ cup shredded Kraft Natural Cheese Low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, or other brand (about 12oz) I decided to only place the mozzarella on the top...so it would be less fattening.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a large, deep lasagna pan with cooking spray. Measure 2 cups of marinara sauce; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until almost tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add chicken; cook until no longer pink, stirring frequently, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add remaining marinara sauce to skillet and stir until well combined; set aside. Mix together ricotta cheese, egg whites, garlic powder and Italian seasoning in a large bowl until well combined.To assemble lasagna, place 2 cups of reserved marinara sauce on bottom of dish. Layer with 3 noodles, 1/3 of ricotta mixture, 1/3 of spinach, 1/3 of mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of chicken-sauce mixture; repeat layers ending with chicken-sauce mixture. (Make sure to spread ingredients to edge of noodles.) Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Bake lasagna for 20 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake until cheese is melted and edges are bubbly, about 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before slicing into 8 equally sized pieces.

Makes 8 servings
Each serving = 8 Weight Watchers Points

I paired this with some bruschetta concoction I made from my fresh homegrown tomatoes and bread, and a tall glass of diet sweet tea.  Now I just have to wait around to see if this thing will give me food poisoning, cause I'm certainly not a master when it comes to properly freezing, storing, thawing, or cooking foods.  But I guess you already knew that.