Woznation

This is not the best lasagna you’ve ever had.  If an Italian grandmother came across this post, she would cry.  (I sure know how to sell a recipe, don’t I?)  However, this IS a very healthful meal and a nice all-in-one dinner.  You got your whole grains, yours veggies, and your dairy (protein).  Plus, I feel like lasagna gets a bad rap as being a ‘fussy’ pasta dish, so I hope to show its really not that bad.  But if you are looking to impress your boss or mother-in-law, Id go find a recipe with some whole-milk ricotta and sausage, because this is just my ‘every day’  lasagna.

Here is what I used:

I had fresh spinach, mushrooms, garlic, onion, bottle of tomato-based sauce, whole wheat noodles, cottage cheese, and mozzarella cheese.  The only thing missing from this picture is a pinch of red pepper flake.  I also really like green pepper in my vegetarian lasagna, but I was out.

Begin by bringing a large pot of water to boil.  And preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Then get to chopping your veggies:

I started with half a large onion (~.75 cups) and 3 mushrooms ( ~.25 cups ) This was a comically small amount of mushrooms, I usually add more like .5 to .75 cups, but I only had a few left in the fridge.  Anyway, let those guys saute together for 5-6 minutes until nice and soft.  I added a little salt and pepper about half way to help them along.

In the last minute, add the 3 minced garlic cloves (~2 tablespoons) and a pinch (~1/8 tsp) of red pepper flake.  By this time your water should be about ready, so lets add the pasta.  Now, maybe someone can enlighten me, is there a ‘lasagna pan’?  Seriously.  A pan made for the exact size of lasagna noodles?  Because I feel like in all the cooking shows, the pasta seems to fit in perfect lines and layers every time.  But I have normal sized pans – 13×9, 9×9, 8×8.   And my lasagna noodles do not fit nicely into these pans.  So this is what I do.  Since this is a smaller recipe for lasagna, I use about 9 lasagna noodles in a 9×9 pan.  And I go ahead and snap the noodles in half before dropping them in the water.

I had tried boiling them in tact, then removing them and cutting off the last few inches to make them fit into my pan in a uniform manner. But I have found that just snapping them prior to boiling and overlapping them tastes equally delicious.  So dont worry too much about the length.  It will work no matter what.

Lets get back to the veggies.  You’ll next want to add your spinach.  I had 2 cups of fresh spinach.  It looks like a lot when you first add it, but it wilts down in just a few minutes:

Its barely any!  In fact, I sometimes used frozen spinach in this recipe.  One frozen 10 oz box equals like 12 cups of fresh spinach.  So feel free to make it as spinachy as you like.  But if you use the frozen spinach just make sure you defrost it in the microwave and squeeze out all the extra water before adding it at this step.  Your veggies are basically ready at this point, you can set them aside til you are ready to layer.

As you saw earlier, I am using cottage cheese and mozzarella in this recipe, in contrast to a more traditional ricotta.  There are some lower fat ricottas, but Im really not a fan.  So in order to keep this leaner, I opt for different cheeses all together.  I use 1 cup of low fat cottage cheese and 1 cup low fat shredded mozzarella.

Once your lasagna has reached a nice flexible state, but NOT cooked all the way through, you are ready to start layering. (Similar to the mac and cheese post, your pasta will finish cooking in the oven, so you do not want it to be done before you get it in there, or else it can get really mushy).  So our layers are going to be: sauce, pasta, cheese, veggies, repeat.  Here we go:

I use about .25 cups of sauce on the bottom initially, then your pasta, then half of the cheese, half of the veggies, and about .75 cups of sauce.  Then you start over with your noodles again.  Notice though, that with the next layer of pasta I layered it in a perpendicular fashion to the first layer.  This helps you cut the lasagna out when you are done.  If all the layers are facing the same way it can slip and slide all over the place.

I only have 3 layers of pasta in this recipe (2 layers of veggie/cheese).  Add another .25 cups of sauce on top of your last layer of pasta to help keep it moist in the oven.  Cover with foil and back at 350 for about 30 minutes.

You could also freeze the lasagna, or put it in the fridge for the next day if you choose to (prior to baking).  If you simply put it in the fridge, you might want to bake at 350 for around 45 mins the next day.  If you freeze, you will want to bake for an hour to an hour 20 minutes.  Regardless, in the last 15 minutes of cooking you have the option of removing the foil and sprinkling with extra cheese to brown up on top, if you wish.  Since this is my attempt at a healthier pasta dish, I usually just sprinkle a bit of parmesan on after its done.

Not too shabby, huh?  Im no italian grandmother, but this was a darn good thursday night meal.

Here is any easy copy/paste version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

.75 cups onion

.25 – .5 cups of mushroom

2 cups of fresh spinach

2 tablespoons of garlic

1/8 tsp of red pepper flake

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 cup cottage cheese

2 cups tomato based sauce (marinara)

9 lasagna noodles

parmesan (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bring large pot of water to a boil; cook 9 lasagna noodles al dente.  Chop up onion and mushroom, saute for 5-6 minutes until soft.  Add minced garlic cloves and red pepper flake, cook for another minute longer.  Wilt in 2 cups (or more) of fresh spinach.  Mix together mozzarella and cottage cheese. Begin layering lasagna.  Add .25 cups of sauce to bottom of 9×9 baking dish, then a layer of pasta, then half of the cheese mixture, then half of the veggie mixture, followed by another .75 cups of sauce.  Repeat.  This time, place lasagna noodles perpendicular to first layer, then add second half of cheese, last of the veggies, and another .75 cups of sauce.  Place last layer of noodles and top with additional .25 cups of sauce.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.