Skillet Chicken Lasagna

Lasagna has been a long-time favorite in my family. I can remember many family dinners around the table starring my mom's lasagna. In fact, if my memory serves correctly, my sister announced one of her pregnancies over a pan of lasagna. Yes, there is a lot of sentimental value attached to such a comfort food. There's also a lot of time necessary to prepare a great pan of lasagna. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to putting in the time required to prepare lasagna on special occasions, but what if I told you it's possible to get all the flavor without all of the work? Would you be interested? Didn't you come here for the time-saving shortcuts? Okay, great, let's get cooking.

This skillet chicken lasagna delivers all the components and flavors of lasagna and can be made in about a half an hour (or, the time it takes for your children to turn their newly-cleaned room back into a pig stye). Just boil up some bow tie pasta, then combine it with a sauce (good store-bought marinara, please) that is dressed up with chicken, onion, garlic, tons of cheese and a dash of crushed red pepper for a little heat. Your family will snarf this down and ask for seconds. The good news is there will be seconds, because it makes a ton. Serve it up and start making some more family memories. Mama mia!

Skillet Chicken Lasagna (adapted from thepioneerwoman.com)

1 lb. bowtie pasta
1 T. olive oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 T. Italian seasoning
Salt
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 c. low sodium chicken broth
1 (25 oz.) jar marinara sauce (I used tomato basil)
1 t. crushed red pepper
3/4 c. part skim ricotta cheese
1 1/2 c. grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving if desired

Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, return to the pot it was cooked in and set aside. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the chicken, Italian seasoning, salt, onion and garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the onion is translucent. 

Add the broth, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits then simmer for 3 minutes to let the broth reduce. Add the marinara sauce, crushed red pepper and additional salt to taste then simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sauce to the cooked pasta along with the ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan cheese if desired.

6 servings (588 calories each serving) according to my calculator on loseit.com