Ton O' Veggies Lasagna

So I

passed this weekend with far too much cheese and wine . . . and beer . . . and margaritas . . . okay lets just say that I was irresponsible in the way that I treated my body. But of course, as these things tend to go, I had a BLAST. Danced and drank at a Cantina in Del mar, and had hands down the best veggies fajitas of my life on Friday night. Here’s what I learned, the smaller you cut

the veggies, the more you can fit in a small space, say a corn tortilla! After drunkenly consuming roughly 2 lbs of onions, pepper and zucchini, I arrived home the next day resolved to employ the same ‘small means more’ philosophy with vegetable lasagna.

I like to balance weekends full of excess, by trying to cook something as healthy and veggie filled as possible, and last night my roommate and I tackled Veggie lasagna, with as many different vegetables as we could find. This makes enough for a family, and freezes well if you are on your own.

The Recipe and few tips are below!

Ingredients:

1 Medium Zucchini

1 Large Carrot

1 Red onion

1 Red bell pepper

1 Green pepper

3 cloves of garlic

11 button or baby Bella mushrooms

½ bunch fresh spinach

Whole Wheat no boil Lasagna noodles ( or boil noodles if you have them, cook per directions on package)

2 jars tomato sauce (store bought or homemade)

12 oz of part skim Ricotta Cheese

2 eggs

Dried or fresh Italian spices, oregano, parsley, basil, thyme

1 package part skim Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

I find it helpful chop and clean all my veggies first, so that I can add them to things quickly when the time comes.

Preheat oven to 350

Chop and wash the fresh spinach and set aside.

Julienne (finely slice) the zucchini, carrot, onion, and peppers. Press three cloves of garlic or finely chop. Thinly slice the mushrooms.

Add all the Julienne veggies, and garlic to a pan

and sauté with a tablespoon of olive oil (go easy as we discussed in the last post). Salt and pepper to taste. When the vegetables are just tender, put in a bowl and set aside. To the same pan add the mushrooms and sauté until tender. Take off the heat.

Add the Ricotta, eggs and spices in a mixing bowl, and mix until egg is incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a 9 x13 Pyrex baking dish spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom, add three no-bake lasagna noodles side to side to cover the bottom. Spread another thin layer of sauce over the top, and then add the sautéed onion, pepper and zucchini mixture until it evenly covers the noodles and sauce. Spread a Layer of the ricotta mixture over the veggies, followed by a layer of sauce, some shredded Mozz, and some parmesan (keep in mind most of the cheese is for the top so don’t over do it!). Cover with three more lasagna noodles. Repeat the layers again, but use the fresh spinach and sautéed mushrooms. Cover with three more noodles, a generous layer of sauce (this will ‘cook’ those top noodles, do don’t be shy), and cover with as much or little cheese as you like.

Bake for 30 mins, or until the top is bubbly and golden.

I like to let mine rest for about 10 mins before I cut into it, but it tastes just delicious, and is FULL of nutrients. You can also swap any of the veggies out for things you like better, and use whatever fat content cheese you prefer. Get creative; every lasagna comes out unique and YUMMY.

Let me know what you think!