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.

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