What I'm making tonight

When Jake is gone I usually make lasagna. He got really sick on the mission once eating lasagna, and hasn't really been able to stomach it since. The kids and I love it though, and I found a few vegetarian versions and combined/adapted them to my taste. You could even make it vegan by using crumbled tofu instead of the dairy parts!

I don't like my lasagna too cheesy/greesy, so you might want more cheese. Or if you don't like a lot of cheese, I've even made this without any ricotta/cottage cheese and just used alfredo sauce layered over vegetables instead.


Lasagna Primavera

*Serves 6-7

1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups diced zucchini
2 cups diced yellow crook-neck squash
2 cups chopped broccoli
1/2 cup diced onion
some chopped fresh spinach
2 cups ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese, or crumbled tofu)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 cups mozzarella or other favorite cheese, shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 (24-ounce) jars pasta sauce (I like to use one marinera, one Alfredo) and I sometimes have some sauce left over.
12 no-boil lasagna noodles (I like the Barilla brand), or 12 regular lasagna noodles, boiled and drained

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all the chopped vegetables (carrots, broccoli, zucchini, squash, spinach) with 1/2 teaspoon salt and saute in a pan coated with olive oil till tender. Set aside.

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan. Spoon about 3/4 cup sauce onto the bottom of the pan and spread around. It will be a thin layer. Cover with four no-boil lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly. Spoon in 1/3 of the vegetables evenly. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta (or chosen substitute) over the vegetables then sprinkle with 1/3 of the mozzarella and 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese. Pour 1/3 of the remaining sauce over the cheese, lightly spreading it to the edges. Repeat the layers (noodles, vegetables, ricotta, mozzarella/parm, sauce) two more times, ending with the last of the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese over the top.

Cover the lasagna with a sheet of lightly greased foil and place the 9X13-inch pan on a large baking sheet lined with foil (this is in case the lasagna bubbles over the edge a bit as it bakes). Bake, covered, for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.