Vegetable Lasagna

     In addition to making a cake for Jaxson's birthday celebration, I also made vegetable lasagna.  I'm not usually a big lasagna fan.  I don't like all the cheese and the idea of vegetable lasagna sometimes draws me in but leaves me disappointed because vegetable lasagna usually means cheesy lasagna with a few stray vegetables thrown in to make it sound healthier.  It was my mission to make a true vegetable lasagna, full of vegetables!  I have never made lasagna before.  My mom suggested using the no bake noodles, but I was a little weary of that.  Instead, I decided to get the full lasagna experience, noodle boiling and all.

This recipe comes from my Cooking Light cookbook.  I doubled the recipe because I made a big dish of lasagna.  If you cut the recipe below in half, you can use an 8 inch baking dish.

Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 red onion, chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced thin
2 packages sliced portabella mushrooms
3 cups tomato sauce, I used sauce I had made previously and froze but you can use anything
30 oz fat free ricotta cheese
4 tbsp pesto
1 cup part skim shredded mozzarella
cooking spray

Method
Preheat over to 375
1. Prepare lasagna noodles.  Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil.  Add 2-3 noodles at a time.  Boil for 10 minutes.  Drain and separate noodles onto waxed paper until ready to use.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, and onion.  Cook for about 5 minutes and then add the tomato sauce.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes.

3. Combine the pesto and the ricotta cheese in a bowl.

4. Spray your cooking dish with cooking spray.  Lay down a layer of noodles.  Cover the noodles with a layer of the ricotta mixture and top with half of the vegetable mixture.  Repeat with an additional layer.  Top your lasagna with a layer of noodles, a bit of the vegetable mixture, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes and then remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

You can make this dish ahead of time and store in the fridge.  When you are ready for baking, let the dish sit for 30 minutes before baking.

The Taste Test
     This dish took a lot of prep work but it was worth it.  I'm glad I know have a lasagna experience under my belt.  There were definitely a lot of veggies, which I enjoyed.  Arnauld was disappointed with the minimal amount of cheese.  I guess we all just have different lasagna preferences.