Start with preheating the oven to 400 degrees F, with the rack in the center position.

Chicken and Broccoli

Season one side of the chicken with kosher salt.

Get a pan, drizzle in about a tablespoon of olive oil and set over medium-high heat. Lay the chicken thighs in the pan, salted side down and then season the other side with a couple pinches of kosher salt.

Let the thighs cook undisturbed until they are golden brown and release easily from the pan. Flip and do the same on the other side, cooking until golden and cooked through. All in all about 12 minutes.

Transfer the thighs to a cutting board to cool slightly and then toss the broccoli in the pan to sauté with a good drizzle of olive oil. Reduce the heat to medium and just sauté the broccoli stirring occasionally until it is a brighter green and just begins to become tender. About 8 minutes.

While the broccoli is sautéing, slice the chicken thighs into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl. When the broccoli is lightly tender, transfer the pieces to the bowl with the chicken. Season the chicken and broccoli with kosher salt, black pepper and the zest of 1 lemon. Toss with tongs to mix in the seasoning. Set the chicken and broccoli aside.

Ranch-Style Sour Cream

To 8 ounces of sour cream, add 1 teaspoon each: dried basil, onion powder, dried parsley, mustard powder; and 1/2 teaspoon each celery salt and garlic powder. Add about 1 teaspoon lemon zest and the juice from half a lemon. Stir that all together and set aside.

Noodles

Now, take 12 lasagne noodles and lay them in a rectangular baking dish. Pour boiling water over them to cover and let them soften while we mix the chicken and broccoli with cheese.

Chicken and Broccoli Filling

To the chicken and broccoli, add cottage cheese, egg and grated Parmesan. Mix this all together really well.

Chicken and Broccoli Lasagna Assembly

In an 8x8 or 9x9 square baking dish, spread a light layer of the seasoned sour cream to coat the bottom of the baking dish.

Then, lay three noodles to cover the sour cream. Let the ends of the noodles climb up the sides of the dish.

Then, on top of the noodles spread half of the chicken and broccoli mixture.

Then lay three more noodles going in the opposite direction from the first set of noodles.

Spread the remaining seasoned sour cream on this second layer of noodles.

Cover the sour cream layer with three more noodles, going in the opposite direction from the second layer of noodles.

Spread the rest of the chicken and broccoli mixture on top of this third layer of noodles.

Lay down those last three noodles in the opposite direction of the third noodle layer. So we have used 12 noodles total, in 4 layers of three noodles each.

If using the optional cream cheese layer, lay the slices of cream cheese on top of the noodles.

Top the lasagna with one heaping cup of grated mozzarella.

Place the baking dish on a rimmed sheet tray and place on the center rack in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and browning.

Let the lasagna cool and set for 15-20 minutes.