Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Veggie Lasagna

I have a LOT of recipe books. And I always want to try new recipes. So my personal challenge this year is to make 2 new recipes a week.
And share them with you!

So here we go-

"Not Nearly as Complicated as it Looks" Veggie Lasagna
from Looneyspoons cookbook
(Great recipe. Will for sure make it again. See notes at bottom.)
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic-minced
2 cups sliced mushrooms*
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup chopped sweet red peppers
1 cup thinly sliced zucchini
1 can (28 ounces) tomatoes- undrained- cut up
1 cup "Italian-style" tomato sauce
1 can (5 1/2 ounces) tomato paste
1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
9 whole wheat lasagna noodles- uncooked
2 cups low-fat (1%) cottage cheese
1 egg white
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach- thawed, squeezed dry & chopped**
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
Spray a large saucepan with non-stick spray. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, red pepper and zucchini. Cook and stir over medium heat until vegetables are softened, about 7-8 minutes.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, soy sauce, basil, oregano, brown sugar, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and drain well.

In a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg white, Parmesan cheese, and spinach. Set aside. In a separate bowl, toss mozzarella and cheddar cheeses together until well mixed.

To assemble lasagna spray DEEP**** 9x13 inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of pan. Layer 3 noodles over top. Spread 2 cups sauce over noodles, followed by 1/2 of the cottage cheese/ spinach mixture, and 1/3 of the cheese.*** Top with 3 more noodles, 2 cups of sauce, 1/2 of the cottage cheese/ spinach mixture and 1/3 of the cheese.*** Layer final 3 noodles on top, followed by 2 cups of sauce (you should be left with 1/3 of the cheese).


Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return to oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Let lasagna cool for 10 minutes before slicing. (Be patient. It will hold together much better if you wait!)



Makes 8 servings. (34 calories & 8.6 g fat per serving)



I think it took me longer to type that up than it did to make it!

Changes I did or will make:
*I (nor any of my family members) don't like mushrooms. So I didn't want to put them in. But I felt like 2 cups was a significant amount of an ingredient to just leave out. We had some leftover chicken so I cut it up and added it instead.
** This was a little too much spinach. It wasn't bad- but just a lot. So unless you have a great love for spinach, I would put a little less next time.
***So I have a problem. I just skim recipes before making them. And then will realize I missed a step when it is a little too late. I didn't realize there was supposed to be cheese layered throughout until I was at the 2nd cheese layer. I decided to just put lots of cheese on top. It ended up tasty. But oh my- it would be even more tasty with cheese throughout. So ALWAYS read your recipe thoroughly before making it!
****I did not use a deep pan. And had to put a cookie sheet on the rack below to catch the drippings that were surely (and did) going to happen. It doesn't necessarily be a big pan, but just not a shallow glass one!!

7 comments:

Kristi said...

I think I would love this- but would my kids even touch it?

Andrea said...

sounds good but complicated. so good to know it's not so hard

Mikaela said...

This looks really good. You are so good to post your yummy recipes because then I can steal them since I have to make new things too. My cousin Ashley and I post recipes on a blog together. It is www.ourrecipeexchange.blogspot.com and there is one she posted called Sweet N Sour Chicken, and it is SOOOOOOOOOOO good and SOOOOOOOOO easy with ingredients pretty much everyone has in their house!

Also, your cake is amazing. Why is it you don't live near me so you can be my cake maker? haha! You should sell those things, so talented you are...I feel like a Jedi right now saying it that way, just in case you were wondering!

Mikaela said...

Oh, and I posted about our recipe blog so if you wanted to check out that recipe to make in your 2 new recipes a week, you could...that was very vague, above.

Anonymous said...

this is a completely awesome recipe that I've used for about 10 yrs and is my standard for vegetarian guests. It's easy - there are a lot of ingredients because you make the lasagna sauce from scratch, which is why it's so good!
You do need a deep dish and avoid the temptation to pile too much sauce between the layers or it will end up soupy. It's also important to let the dish cool a bit before slicing - great leftovers!

Anonymous said...

This lasagna is sooo good but...
34 calories per portion??

Janet said...

About 4 years ago I was trying to find a vegetarian meal for a guest and happened upon this one. I don't like cottage cheese, zucchini, mushrooms or spinach so wouldn't have considered it for myself. I decided to taste it when it was served, and much to my surprise, I loved it! I'm still shaking my head AND making this recipe for myself.