Veggie Lasagna

I am the kind of cook that just dumps a bunch of whatever I feel like into the pot and sometimes end up with a great meal...so in an effort to try and write down what I'm doing, I am going to start posting recipes, picture or not. Some of these I will try to post pics and others, I just plain forget. Besides I am no photographer. There are other amazing blogs with lots of organization and wonderful pictures, but I am not good at that, so I just post the recipes mostly and really crappy pictures, ha! So, I apologize. I know that I love to look at pics when cooking. It gives me an idea of what the creator's dish looks like, so I can appreciate that cooking without the picture leaves you flying blind sometimes. I will post what I can. Please contact me for any questions!

This creation I made for family that was coming in town a few weeks ago. I made two lasagnas. We had 4 adults and 11 kids! So, I was worried that one lasagna wouldn't cut it. Needless to say I had almost an entire lasagna left over. Fine by me! It was delicious! One of the lasagna's was very soupy and the other was perfect. The key, LESS SAUCE...and no cottage cheese (only ricotta). I tasted an amazing lasagna once that had cream cheese in it. I have yet to try that on my own. So if you do, let me know how that goes. Sometimes I worry that the noodles are not fully covered by sauce and so I put more on, this isn't necessary. Also, many people cook their noodles before baking them, but I never have. I find that cooking it for at least an hour does the trick and my noodles are never mushy. They are perfect. So this is what I prefer. Again...be careful not to add too much sauce! Also, after my lasagna has baked for an hour, I take it out and let it sit for 15 minutes or so, uncovered. It gives it a chance to set. Also, experiment around with veggies you like. I've never been a fan of eggplant, so I don't use it, but my SIL said she uses it often. So, go crazy! Have fun and enjoy cooking! It's such a fun creative process for me! Hope you enjoy my recipes!

Veggie Lasagna

4 cups spaghetti sauce (see below for my homemade sauce or sometimes when I'm in a hurry I use Walmarts Great Value brand Traditional Sauce)
1-2 zucchini sliced
2-3 cups fresh spinach
1/2 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup parsley flakes
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Prepare spaghetti sauce. Set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs, mix in ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and parsley flakes.

In a 9x13 pan spread a small amount of sauce across the bottom. Layer the noodles, 1/2 the cheese mixture, 1/2 the zucchini, 1/2 the spinach, sprinkle mozzarella cheese, and top with 1/2 the sauce. Repeat layers again, Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake for 1 hour @ 350.
Enjoy!

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (blended in a blender) or 2-3 cups fresh tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried basil or 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon oregano or 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic or 2 garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar (optional

In a saucepan, saute onion and fresh garlic in olive oil. Add all other ingredients and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the sauce is very thick. Add more tomato paste for desired thickness. ( I will sometimes whisk into the sauce 1/4 cup white bean flour to thicken for added protein).