Friday, September 5, 2008

Spinach Lasagna

This is my favorite lasagna ever! I don't love lasagnas with tons of meat; I think vegetables are a lot more interesting and flavorful (and healthy!). I use whole wheat lasagna for it. I know that sometimes you can tell if pasta is whole wheat or not, like in spaghetti dishes for example, but you will have no idea that these noodles are whole wheat.

9 dried whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (or more, if you love mushrooms like me!)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS butter
1 7-oz jar roasted sweet red peppers, drained and chopped. Don't you dare rinse those puppies! (I usually omit this since roasted red peppers are pretty expensive, but if you can buy them...it's so worth it.)
1 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained--important!
1 15-oz container ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1 30 1/2-oz jar meatless spaghetti sauce (one with veggies already in it, like zucchini, is great!)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook lasagna noodles for 10-12 minutes (or according to package directions) till tender but still firm. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water. Drain well.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook onion, mushrooms, and garlic in hot butter till tender but not brown; stir in sweet peppers if using. Set aside.

Pat and squeeze spinach dry with paper towels. In a medium bowl stir together spinach, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, the 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, oregano, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Stir mushroom mixture into spinach mixture.

Spread 1/2 cup of the spaghetti sauce evenly in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce. Layer with half the mushroom-spinach mixture and 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spoon remaining spaghetti sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Bake, covered, in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake about 10 minutes more or till heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving to let everything set.

5 comments:

Rachel said...

Emily and I were talking about how much we love lasagna the other day, maybe I should make us a batch!

I'm not sure if I've even seen whole wheat lasagna noodles. Where did you find them?

Ashley said...

I found the whole wheat lasagna noodles just in a normal grocery store, not a health foods store or anything. In the pasta aisle there is a small shelf with whole wheat pasta--not much variety, but they always have spaghetti and angel hair, and recently I found lasagna.

Btw, if you like mushrooms, they give the lasagna a texture that kind of replaces the meat.

Katie @ goodLife {eats} said...

I bought the ingredients to make this tonight! It sounds wonderful and it has been a while since I made lasagna.

Katie @ goodLife {eats} said...

This was really good! It makes a lot so we are having leftovers again tonight and that will be the last of it. I even bought the red peppers, but then forgot to put them in because someone asked for a drink and I got distracted. I will post about it when I get a chance on my food blog. :)

Ashley said...

I'm glad you liked it!