Delicious Chicken Florentine Lasagna

Here's a different take on the traditional lasagna that everyone loves.   A Florentine lasagna is made with a white sauce instead of the traditional tomato sauce. 

 The creamy chicken filling with spinach and mozzarella makes it an elegant entree that you can serve for a special occasion.  I served this one  green beans,  a salad, and  for everyone else french bread.   
This recipe is from my church Come & Dine cookbook, and it comes from a great cook.

Chicken Florentine Lasagna

1.  Prepare vegetables:
(1)  Chop up 1 medium onion.
(2)  Chop up 10-15 oz of fresh spinach (or use frozen)/
(3)  Mince 2- 4 cloves of garlic.
(4)  Chop up 1 cup of mushrooms.

2. Prepare chicken:  Chop  up  2 cups of chicken breast and poach in 1 cup of water until tender.  Reserve the liquid for the cream sauce. 

3.   Cook 9 gluten free lasagna noodles (I prefer Tinkyada)

4.  Grate 3 cups of mozzarella cheese.

5.  Prepare the creamy cheese sauce - In a large skillet put:
(1)  1/2 cup of butter and let melt.
(2)  Add the onions and let cook for 2 minutes.  Then add the mushrooms and the garlic and sauté for about 2 more minutes. 
(3)  Stir in 1/4 cup of white rice flour and whisk for about  30 seconds.  Then slowly add 2 cups of chicken broth (I made mine with adding enough water to the reserved chicken liquid to make 2 cups.  I added 2 tsp. Chicken Better than Bouillon.)
(4)  Then whisk an additional 1/4 cup of white rice four into 2 cups of milk.  Then gradually whisk that into the pan stirring continually.  Bring to a boil and stir it for just one minute.  
(5)  Now add 2 cups of the grated mozzarella into the sauce with 1 tsp. basil, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 3/4 tsp.  black pepper.  Cook over low heat until the cheese is melted.  
(6)  Make any adjustments--more milk, more seasonings?

6.  Assemble lasagna:
(1)  Put 1 1/2 cups of the sauce into the bottom of an ungreased  9  x 13 pan.
(2)  Top with 3 or 4 lasagna noodles.  
(3)  Spread 1 cup of cottage cheese over the noodles.  (You may need a tiny bit more than this)
(4)  Spoon 1 1/2  cups of the cream sauce over the cottage cheese.
(5)  Top with 3 or 4 more lasagna noodles.
(6)  Spread 1 cup of cottage cheese over these noodles.  
(7)  Top with the spinach and chicken.
(8)  Spoon 2 to 2 1/2  more cups over the spinach and chicken layer.  (You should make sure you have enough to put over the last layer of noodles.)
(9) Top with the last 3 lasagna noodles.
(10)  Grate additional mozzarella over the top and sprinkle 1/2 cup more Parmesan on top.  

7.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 45-50 minutes.   Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  (I usually lay a piece of foil over it to help it not cool down too fast.)

Other Italian & Greek Pasta Recipes on This Blog:

Italian & Greek Chicken:
Incredible Gluten Free Chicken Souvlaki   (My son-in-law's marinade recipe)
Chicken Cacciatore with Peppers & Mushrooms  (My mother-in-law)
You've Got to Try This Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan!  (From my church cook book, Come & Dine)

Pasta Cassroles:
The Best Gluten Free Lasagna   (From my church Come & Dine cookbook)
Delicious Gluten Free Chicken Tetrazzini     (From my daughter-in-law's family cookbook)
Jan's Classic  Baked Spaghetti Casserole

 Classic Pastas:
My Mom's Splendiferous Gluten Free Spaghetti  (My mother's amazing sauce!)
Ginger's Family Favorite Gluten Free Beef Stroganoff   (From my friend Ginger)
Gluten Free Pasta Aioli - Sausage & Vegetable Penne  (From my daughter and son-in-law)
Incredible Gluten Free Pasta Primavera     (Combination of two Internet searches)
Fantastic Gluten Free Salmon Fettucine 
Easy to Make Gluten Free Shrimp Linguini   (From my Syre School Cookbook)

Mac & Cheeses
Fantastic Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese  (Modified from Heritage & Internet search)
Gluten Free Comfort Food - Downright Delicious Gluten Free Tuna Noodle Casserole  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Northwest Crab Mac & Cheese  - From a 5th grade friend's recipe project
Whidbey Island Crab & Noodle Bake - A classy crab mac & cheese recipe from my mother-in-law

Pizza
Judi's Gluten Free Crazy Crust Pizza -  Spinach, Artichoke & Feta Pizza (From a friend)

Soups:
This is the Best Minestrone Soup!  (From my son's Internet search and tweaking)
Mouth Watering Italian Turkey Sausage Soup   (This is  my friend Debbie's recipe)

Salads:
Tasty Gluten Free Pasta Salad   (I've been making this salad for over 20 years!)
Jeremy D's Sensational Greek Salad  (From my son-in-law who is half Italian)
Michelle's Greek Quinoa Salad   (My daughter came up with this way to use quinoa)

Why Did Jacob Call the Two Altars in Genesis 33 & 35 By Different Names?

    After twenty years of wheeling and dealing, God told Jacob in Genesis 31:3 to head back to Canaan. When Jacob returned, he built his very first altar in Shechem and called it El-Elohi-Israel (Gen. 33:20).  In Hebrew that name means the God of Israel. But after tragedy struck, God told him to go to Bethel.  And when he arrived there, he built another altar, but he gave it a totally different name.  Jacob called this altar El-Bethel, which in Hebrew means the God of the house of God (Gen. 35:7).  

Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make there an altar unto God.  Genesis 35:1

    What I read in chapter 80 of the Life-Study of Genesis helped me not  to gloss over these two names, because actually they are very meaningful. In this section Witness Lee points out that in Shechem Jacob named the altar after his own name, but in Bethel, he called it after the God of a corporate dwelling place. The light in this chapter is phenomenal; here are some key parts on pages 1026, 1028, and 1030 that bring out  how these two altars connect to our Christian life:

"In Genesis 35 we see a crucial and radical turn. However, not many children of God appreciate this. They read this chapter again and again without recognizing the radical turn contained in it.  Before this chapter, God was the God of individuals. He was the God of Abel, the God of Enosh, the God of Enoch, the God of Noah, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac.  But here He is no longer just the God of individuals, but El-Bethel, the God of the house of God…. This is also true of the experience of God, for the experience of God has a corporate aspect as well as an individual aspect….In calling the altar [at Shechem] El-elohe-Israel, he was actually calling it the God of himself.
… The individual experience of God is good, but it is insufficient. We need to go on from the individual experience to the corporate experience.... But where was that consecration--at Shechem or at Bethel?….But the consecration I made after coming into the church life was much higher than any previous consecration" (Lee, Witness.  Life-study of Genesis.  Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1978, Print)

Walking with  my grandkids.

    After reading this I could see that if we're not careful our whole Christian life can just center on our own holiness, spirituality, or victory. But God has a need for a house. We know from looking at the Old Testament that God had a dwelling place with the tabernacle and the temple, but that wasn't God's ultimate goal.

   In the New Testament we see  that  in 1 Timothy 3:15 we can see that the church is the house of the living God.  I liked this prayer in the end of the chapter:  "Lord, now I would make a thorough and specific consecration to You, not that I might be holy, spiritual, or victorious, but that I might experience Your house and remain in it"(1032).

You can  also listen to live excerpts from these messages on  Genesis on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.  

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Genesis:

From the Life-Study of Genesis - What is the Focus of the Bible?
What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Why Did God Create Man in Genesis 1:26?
Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?
Why Did God Put Man in Front of the Two Trees in Genesis 2?
Seeing God's Purpose of Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
What is the Story Behind the Story of Cain & Abel?
What Did Enosh Learn to Do in Genesis 4:26?
How Did Enoch Escape Death in Genesis 5:24?
Why Did Noah Need to Find Grace in Genesis 6:8?
What Does the Rainbow Symbolize in Genesis 9:13?
How Did God Call Abraham in Genesis 12:1?
How Did God Fulfill the Birth of Isaac in Genesis 12:7?
What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?
How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?
Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob
What is the Meaning of the Two Altars in Genesis 33 & 35?

Other posts on God's Building:

From the Life-Study of Matthew:
What is the Significance of the Parables on the Treasure & the Pearl of Great Value in Matthew 13:44-46?

From the Life-Study of Acts:
What Does the Early Church Look Like in the Book of Acts?
How Did the Lord Spread the Gospel in Acts 8?
What Vision Did Saul Have at His Conversion in Acts 9:3-8?
How Does the Gospel Reach the Gentiles in Acts 10?

From the Life-Study of Romans:
What is the Focus of Romans 12?
What Does Romans 14 Say About Receiving Believers & Why Does It Matter?
Have You Seen the Practical Church Life in Romans 16?

From the Life-Study of 1 Corinthians:
What is God Building in 1 Corinthians 3:9?
What Does it Mean to Build in 1 Corinthians 3:12 With Gold, Silver, & Precious Stones?
What is the Apostle Paul's View of the Body in 1 Corinthians 12?
How Did the Early Believers Meet in 1 Corinthians 14:26?

From the Life-Study of Ephesians:
What is the Subject of Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians?
What is the Mystery of God's Will Revealed in Ephesians 1:9?
What is the One New Man in Ephesians 2:15?
What are the Seven Aspects of the Church Seen in Ephesians?
Why Did God Abolish the Ordinances in Ephesians 2:15? 

From the Life-Study of Colossians:
What is the Mystery of God in Colossians 2:2? (Part 1)
What is the Mystery of Christ in Ephesians 5:32?   (Part 2)
What is the Greatest Mystery?
How Does God Get the One New Man in Colossians 3:10?

From the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus & Philemon:
Looking at the Church's Decline in 2 Timothy
From the Life-Study of 2 Timothy - How Did Paul Inoculate the Church Against Decline?

From the Life-Study of 1 Peter:
How Does God Get the Living Stones in 1 Peter 2:5?

From the Life-Study of Revelation:
What is the Controlling Vision of he Bible Seen in the Book of Revelation?

From the Life-Study of Genesis:
Seeing Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
What is the Meaning of the Two Altars in Genesis 33 & 35?

From Lessons for New Believers by Witness Lee:
Discussion with College Students: What is the Church?

Grandma's Old Fashioned Meat Loaf (Easily Made Gluten Free!)

Nothing tastes better than Grandma's home cooking!  When my kids were young, their grandparents lived just a few blocks away from us.  They loved it whenever we got invited for dinner.  Over the years she has shared with me many of her favorite recipes, and this one I submitted to our church cookbook Come & Dine.  

The only thing I do differently now that I've been diagnosed with celiac disease is  I make some gluten free mushroom soup. Also instead of adding bread, I add gluten free oats.  And you know what--you couldn't tell at all! 

 Enjoy this wonderful winter meal with baked potatoes, butternut squash, peas, and a salad.  

Grandma's Old Fashioned Meat Loaf

1.  Prepare vegetables:
(1)  Chop 1/2 cup of onion.
(2)  Chop 2 T of parsley
(3)  Mince 1 clove of garlic
(4)  Optional:  Mince 1/4 cup of mushrooms 

2.  Prepare gluten free mushroom soup:
(1)  In a skillet put 2 T of butter and let it melt.
(2)  Whisk in 3 T of white rice flour.
(3)  Then gradually add 10 oz of milk/water and whisk until smooth and the "soup" starts to thicken.
(4)  Add 1 T Worcestershire sauce, 1 t salt, 1/2 t of black pepper,  2 t parsley, mushrooms if using, and 1 t of Chicken Better Than Bouillon.
(5)  Taste and make any adjustments.

3.  Prepare meat loaf - In a large mixing bowl put:
(1)  1.5- 2 pounds of organic ground beef
(2)  Add 1 cup of regular oatmeal and 2 eggs
(3)  Then stir in the mushroom soup, onion,  garlic, and 1/2 cup of grated cheese.
(4)  Mix until all the ingredients are well combined.

4.  Baking meat loaf:  
(1)  Put into a bread pan and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. 
(2)   Mix 3 T of ketchup with 1 1/2 T of brown sugar and spread it over the top of the meat loaf and bake an additional 15 minutes.   
(3)  Check meatloaf and  if needed, bake for an additional 5 or 10 minutes.  

List of beef recipes on this blog:

Asian:
Gluten Free Bulgogi Rice Bowls  (With a Korean friend and a modified recipe)
Outstanding Gluten Free Sukiyaki    
Joann's Oriental Gluten Free Meatballs   (A friend from Taiwan taught me!)

Italian Favorites:
My Mom's Amazing Gluten Free Spaghetti  (My mom's fantastic spaghetti)
The Best Gluten Free Lasagna   (From my church Come & Dine Cookbook)
Jan's Classic Baked Spaghetti Casserole   (From my  church Come & Dine Cookbook)

Mexican:
Fantastic Gluten Free Carne Asada    (Modified from an Internet search)
Acapulco Delight - a Mexican Enchilada  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Easy Gluten Free Taquitos
Fiesta Gluten Free Tamale Pie (From my church Come & Dine Cookbook)
Great Beef Enchiladas   (From my church Come & Dine Cookbook)
El Dorado Beef Casserole  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)

Casseroles & American Favorites:
The Best Gluten Free Shepherd's Pie  (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Ginger's Family Favorite Beef Stroganoff   (A recipe from a friend)

Soups & Stews:
Marilyn's No Peeking Beef Stew    (My mother-in-law's recipe)
Cooking Beef Pho for Vietnamese Students
Debbie's Mouth Watering Italian Sausage Soup  (From my friend Debbie)
Marilyn's Make It From Scratch Chili   (My mother-in-law's recipe)

Sandwiches:
Gluten Free French Dip Sandwiches  (Modified from an Internet search) 

Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Joseph

     I’ve heard it said that Genesis is a book of pictures.  And if you take the snapshots from the lives of just Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, what do you think you would see?  From my reading of chapter 66 of the Life-Study of Genesis I found out that all of their lives would show us one believer’s spiritual journey!

My husband took this picture of Mt. Shasta
 when he and my son were on a road trip.

In case you’re thinking, what's up with that?  I’m going to put the excerpts on pages 867 and 869 so you can see how all these four stories overlap to make the story of one believer:  

"God called Abraham and he was caught. But the genuine beginning did not start in Chaldea; it started  with God’s selection before the foundation of the world.  This beginning is found in Jacob, not in Abraham….We do not see that Abraham was transformed into a prince of God. If we would see the beginning and ending of the experience of God, we must come to Jacob….What is the purpose of God’s calling? It is to transform us into kings. We can see this in Jacob, but not in Abraham or Isaac. Isaac only knew to eat “savory meat.” ..…God’s purpose for Jacob was not to give him peace, joy, and a happy life and then to take him to heaven. God’s purpose was to deal with this pitiful supplanter until he was transformed into a prince of God bearing His image to express Him and expressing His dominion to represent Him. This is God’s goal. When we come to the end of Genesis, we see that Israel was exactly this type of person....Furthermore, through Joseph, he was the one who had dominion over the whole earth, representing God on the earth" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Genesis. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1974 Print).

     Seeing this has helped me to go beyond just reading and thinking about the accounts of these patriarch’s lives  in Genesis as isolated Bible stories. Probably what jolted me the most was seeing the purpose of God’s calling.

    Here’s a what I came away with after reading this chapter:   Before we were even born,1 Peter 1:2 tells us that God foreknew us. Then in Romans 9 Paul goes into how God chose Jacob before he and Esau could have done good or bad (9:11-13). We were just God’s choice—and there’s no figuring that out.   Like Paul says in Romans 9:14-16, we'd have to say that our salvation is all because of God’s mercy. But our calling has a purpose, and it’s not a ticket to heaven while you do whatever you want now and hope it all works out. 

    In this Life-Study I learned that Ephesians 1:4 and 5 clearly state that the purpose of God's selecting, predestinating, and calling us is to make us sons. But that’s not the end of the story.  Look at yourself and you’ll have to admit you’re a long way off from looking like Jacob and Joseph did at the end of their lives.

      In the last paragraph of this chapter Witness Lee says that today we are all on the way of Jacob.  All of our sufferings, afflictions, trials, and hardships have one purpose and that is to conform us like Romans 8:29 says into the image of the Son of God.  I don’t know about you but hearing this makes everything in my life make sense.  And I know that whatever this new year brings, it's part of my own spiritual journey!

You can  also listen to live excerpts from these messages on  Genesis on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.  

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Genesis:

From the Life-Study of Genesis - What is the Focus of the Bible?
What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Why Did God Create Man in Genesis 1:26?
Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?
Why Did God Put Man in Front of the Two Trees in Genesis 2?
Seeing God's Purpose of Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
What is the Story Behind the Story of Cain & Abel?
What Did Enosh Learn to Do in Genesis 4:26?
How Did Enoch Escape Death in Genesis 5:24?
Why Did Noah Need to Find Grace in Genesis 6:8?
What Does the Rainbow Symbolize in Genesis 9:13?
How Did God Call Abraham in Genesis 12:1?
How Did God Fulfill the Birth of Isaac in Genesis 12:7?
What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?
How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph
Why Did Jacob Call the Two Altars in Genesis 33 & 35 By Different Names?
How Do the Stories of Jacob & Joseph Mirror God's Purpose in Genesis 1:26?
How Did Joseph's Dreams Really Get Fulfilled in Genesis 41?
How Did the Lord Shepherd Jacob in Genesis 45:18?