Eating In VS. Eating Out

I LOVE going out to eat. Someone else sets the table, cooks the meal and cleans up after me... now that is nice. The downside about going out to eat is that it can be expensive.

My husband and I prefer to entertain in our home instead of meeting friends for dinner at a restaurant. We can make a yummy dinner that costs less to us than ordering two meals and it it also keeps our friends from spending as well.

I have a few recipes that are easy to make and yummy enough to serve to guests, here is one of my favorite entertaining recipes. Pare this with a great salad and garlic bread.

Here is my Chicken Alfredo Lasagna recipe:

Ingredients for Sauce
1/2 C. Butter (aka: 1 stick)
2 Cloves Garlic (I use about 8)
2 C. Heavy Cream (16 ounces)
1/4 t. Pepper
1/2 C. Parmesan Cheese
3/4 C. Mozzarella Cheese (I use the fine shred variety for quicker melting!)

To Prepare:
Melt butter on medium heat. Add garlic, cream and pepper- simmer (5 min.). Stir often. Add Parmesan cheese and simmer 10 minutes. When sauce seems thick, slowly add Mozzarella cheese and stir until smooth.

Ingredients for the lasagna:
3-4 chicken breasts worth of shredded chicken
1 (16 oz) container of cottage cheese
1 (2c.) package of shredded mozzarella
9 cooked lasagna noodles
1 small package of fresh spinach leaves
1 batch of homemade Alfredo sauce (I actually use 1/2 a batch).

For the layering:
I spread a little bit of sauce on the bottom of the pan, then I layer lasagna noodles (cooked), then I mix 1/3 of the Alfredo sauce with 1/3 the container of cottage cheese, and I spread that over the noodles. Next I spread a layer of shredded chicken across the Alfredo/cottage cheese mix. Then I place a thin layer of fresh spinach leaves on top of the chicken. I finish out the layer but sprinkling 1/3 of the package of mozzarella cheese. Triple the layers and add Italian bread crumbs on top of the final layer. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving! Enjoy!