Sunday, October 7, 2012

Meatless on Monday #12 Veggie Lasagna

I only make lasagna about twice a year but when I do I go all out.  I usually make 2 veggie, 2 meat and 2 meat with veggie.  This time however I am making a few as a gift.  What do you do for a single guy who has just about everything for his birthday?  
Yep, make him food!
This was my trip in 2010 with my Mom watching me blow out the candles!
I don't really use a recipe so I'm taking notes as I go.  As a kid my mom made Lasagna for special occasions and she normally made 2 or 3 for the party.  When I was visiting last year my mom made 8 (i think) for a huge get together to welcome me home!  I am one lucky girl with one amazing Mom!  Btw...the cake in the picture above is the famous 14 Karat Cake.  You can find it in Mary's Real Food Cookbook!

Low-carb noodles are diabetic-friendly!
Veggie Lasagna
These ingredients are estimates.  
I would recommend having more on hand just in case.
I usually have a bit of something left over which I save for another meal.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1- 1 1/2 pound raw spinach, lightly steamed
OR 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach
2 cups chopped mushrooms, sauteed
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 cups water
3 cups non-fat ricotta cheese
2 cups part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs 
8 ounces lasagna noodles, cooked






Directions:
The first order of business is to  boil your noodles, steam the spinach and saute the mushrooms.  Set aside to drain and cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion, oregano, basil and garlic in the olive oil. Pour in spaghetti sauce and water; simmer 20 minutes. In a large bowl mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, pepper and eggs. 

Place a small amount of sauce in the bottom of a lasagna pan. Place 4 cooked noodles on top of sauce and top with layer of sauce then spinach and mushrooms. Add 4 more noodles and layer with ½ or ¼ of cheese mixture, spinach, mushrooms and then sauce.  Add another layer of noodles and repeat until all is layered, finishing with sauce.  Cover with mozzarella cheese.
2 down...2 to go!
Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven for 55 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
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The directions above are for a large lasagna.  I usually make mine smaller since I'm not feeding a family of 5.  

To make small pans: use just enough noodle to cover the pan and layer just like you would a large lasagna.  The above ingredients should make about 4 small lasagna pans.

**There is still time to enter 

Mary's Salsa Garden Pack Giveaway**
Ends October 12th

22 comments:

  1. We make lasagna about once a month, I just love it! Thanks for sharing the veggie recipe, I may make two next time!

    Visiting/following from the hop.

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  2. Mmmm, I love spinach in my lasagna. These look really yummy!

    Bobi
    http://onedailymoneytip.blogspot.com

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  3. Looks great - Joining from Inspire Me Monday. http://allthoseartsygirls.blogspot.com/

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  4. Yummy! We love lasagna at our house. I'll admit it's the store bought kind. Thank you for sharing at my Our Favorite Things Link Party.

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  5. YUM!!!!
    i started using no bake noodles....love them!

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  6. Hello,

    Newest follower from the blog hop. Great recipes, I'm gonna make lasagna for my family tonight. We're vegetarians, so I use meat substitutes for our meat. When you get a chance please stop by my website www.lilliesandsilk.com.

    Thanks,

    Carissa

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  7. Love this Mary, we love Lasagna, and I will be making this meatless lasagna, thanks for sharing!

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  8. Found and followed you through Adorned from Above's link party! This lasagna looks delicious, even if meatless :) One thing we like to do is, instead of noodles, use long slices of zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant, gives you even MORE veggies!

    Hope you stop by my blog sometime as well!

    http://www.the-not-so-desperate-chef-wife.com/
    Krista

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  9. I love this...what a wise idea! Stopping by from True Aim.

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  10. Your lasagne looks delicious.
    Debi @ Adorned From Above

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  11. I'm so happy to read all of the wonderful comments! Thank you so much for stopping by. If you have a moment, stop by and enter the Mary's Salsa Garden Pack Giveaway. Grow your Own!
    http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2012/10/marys-salsa-garden-pack-giveaway.html

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  12. I love veggie lasagna. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday. Please come back Sunday to vote.

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  13. I love lasagna. I've never tried putting spinach in it, although I've eaten some made by other people that had spinach, and it was delicious! I'm wondering why you steam the spinach in advance, though--it cooks so quickly, couldn't you just put it in raw and let the steam from the baking of the lasagna cook it? That's how I cook my noodles; whether they are labeled "no bake" or not, if there's enough moisture in the other ingredients the noodles will cook to a nice texture in the oven.

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    2. VERY good question! A huge bag of spinach is reduced to almost a handful once it is steamed. Also, spinach is full of water. If you didn't steam it and then SQUEEZE it out (or let it drain) you might end up with a scrawny and soupy lasagna.

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  14. Oh yum, that looks fabulous! I want to start making a bunch of meals ahead of time, and lasagna is great for that, so this recipe is perfect. Thanks for sharing at The Fun In Functional!

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  15. This sounds great! I love vegetarian lasagna! Thanks for linking this up at Meatless Monday recipe hop :)

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  16. love this! thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. Wishing you a beautiful day xo

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  17. Yum! Would love if you linked up on my blog hop! www.w-t-fab.com/search/label/bloghop. Also let me know if you'd like to follow each other!

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  18. Wow it all looks amazing! Thanks for sharing at Mom's Library.

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  19. I've never made more than one lasagna at a time - this seems very efficient. Thanks for linking up at Romance on a dime!!

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  20. Mary,
    Your recipe looks great. I'm making lasagne torrow with a friend. Thanks so much for linking at Adorned From Above's Link Party last week. This weeks party is opened.
    Debi @ Adorned From Above
    www.adornedfromabove.com

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Have an awesome day!
-Mary