Sometimes I get these food ideas in my head and if I have enough energy I give it a try. This lasagna was one of those things.

I only recently started eating Buffalo Chicken Dip and so I thought why not put it in a lasagna. I did a quick google search and saw that others have thought the same like me. So I put my skills to test and whipped up this dish. My general guide was this recipe, I made some changes that you’ll see below and added vegetables. Whenever I try to replicate dishes or experiment with new recipes I always think of ways that I can add veggies, this lasagna was no exception.

I want to let you know right now, this is not a recipe. Instead it’s more of a tutorial because I have only made this once, so beware… you’ve been warned ?

Here’s what you’ll need

• 4 chicken thighs
• ~about 1 cup of water
• favorite spices, to taste
• ~about 1 cup of hot sauce
• ~2 tablespoons of cream cheese
• 3-4 cups frozen broccoli, riced
• 8 oz blue cheese, shredded
• 8 oz parmesan cheese, shredded
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 a box of lasagna noodles
• salted water (for boiling noodles)
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
• ~2 cups of whole milk
• ~1 pint of heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Here’s what to do

First things first, put your chicken to cook. I put 4 chicken thighs in the instantpot with water, enough to cover, and your favorite spices (I used chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper) and cooked for 25 minutes on high pressure. Once it was cooked I let it cool. After cooling shred the chicken add as much hot sauce or buffalo sauce as you can handle and some cream cheese if you’re feeling fancy. Set aside.

While the chicken is cooking you can, rice your broccoli, shred your cheeses, put the noodles to boil and start your roux, and remember to wash as you go. (lots of steps, I know)

In a food processor pulse your broccoli until it’s very fine and small. I did this because I wanted veggies but I didn’t want big pieces of broccoli in the lasagna. Pour into a bowl and set aside. Clean out the bowl and shred your cheeses and set aside into separate bowls. I shredded blue cheese, parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese (you can leave the mozzarella for last and keep it in the freezer in the meantime).

Put your noodles to boil. Bring a large pot filled, halfway, with salted water to boil, once boiling add your noodles and start your roux and cheese sauce. Cook noodles according to package instructions until al dente.

In a sauce pan melt your butter on medium high heat and add your flour, whisking until it’s fully incorporated, it should look dryish. Slowly add in your milk, I used about half a quart of whole milk. Add in your blue cheese and parmesan cheese, mixing to combine and cooking for about 10 minutes until sauce is thickened. Add a few splashes of heavy cream to thin out as needed. Add salt and pepper to taste. This is your cheese sauce.

Once noodles are done, drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. Preheat oven to 400F.

Now it’s time to build your lasagna. In a lasagna pan or any rectangular oven safe pan set up to start layering your layers.

Use a spoon and spread a layer of the cheese sauce on the bottom of the pan. Lay three noddles in the pan to cover the sauce. Add a portion of your shredded chicken, some of your broccoli, and a few sprinkles of mozzarella cheese. Add another layer of the cheese sauce and cover with noodles, repeat until you’ve reached the top of the pan. Top with the rest of the cheese sauce and sprinkle the rest of the cheeses.

Pop it in the oven, cook covered for 35 minutes and uncovered for 10 minutes so it gets nice and bubbly brown. Cool for 10 minutes and enjoy! Freeze the leftover for up to 3 months.

Check out some more of my quarantine cooking here.