Is It Still Lasagna?

  I made lasagna this afternoon. Italianates and food purists should probably just take their leave now, because this definitely isn't traditional.
   I started with whole wheat pasta. I like Ronzoni. It's readily available and to be honest, I don't detect a noticeable difference in texture or flavor, although I'll be the first to admit I don't have a sensitive palate.
Sauce goes in the (disposable) pan. Yes....I do use ready made sauce. So sue me. I use the noodles uncooked and spread the ricotta on the noodle just like peanut butter on a graham cracker.

  I thawed out a package of chopped spinach, sauteed a Walla Walla onion, and about a 1/2lb. of sliced mushrooms, and put them in a bowl all together. I used 1 1/2 leftover chicken breast, diced, mostly because that's what I had. I've been known to use leftover Something In A Tortilla meat (an upcoming episode), with good result. I had grated cheese at the ready. So it goes together like this:

Sauce in the pan, layer of ricotta coated noodles, veggies.

Meat, cheese, more sauce. Repeat.

 
The last layer is noodles without ricotta, although I can't imagine more ricotta would be a bad thing. Is that possible? Then a good layer of sauce. I don't skimp on the amount of sauce because the uncooked noodles absorb a lot of moisture. One more layer of grated cheese. Today I didn't have any mozzarella cheese (what was I thinking?), so I used what I had on hand, which is how this blog got started in the first place. Grated Monterey jack and mild cheddar in this case. Oh don't make that face...just wait..

   I covered the whole thing with foil and baked it for 45 minutes, then uncovered and continued to bake for another 15 minutes. You should smell this kitchen!          

    
Did I mention I made bread?  Our friends and neighbors Don and Kitty have a bed and breakfast down the road, the beautiful Inn At Crippin Creek ( www.crippencreek.com ). They also offer cooking classes. And my friends, they are REAL cooks. Anyway I took a bread making class from them, and now I don't feel intimidated by the thought of making a loaf or two for dinner. Of course, their loaves are much more beautifully formed.

 
 A loaf of bread, a glass of wine, a nice salad, and whole wheat chicken lasagna. Life is good.