Recipes

[Carol1229]

One of Bob's favorite meals is lasagna. He's always loved it and is one happy guy when he sees it on the dinner table.

I've made all kinds of lasagna and am always on the lookout for new recipes to switch it around.

I ran across this recipe on the Taste of Home board a while back and when I took a peek at it, I knew it was something that would fit into our new eating plan.

We go grocery shopping every other week so I try to plan on getting enough fresh vegetables to last us between store visits, using the most perishable items during the first week and then finishing up the rest the week before going shopping again.

What I LOVE about this recipe is I could adapt the vegetable filling to use up all the odds and ends of our favorite vegetables in the crisper drawer. I had a few carrots, a small head of fresh broccoli, green pepper, some cremini mushrooms AND zucchini and summer squash that I decided would both go into the dish instead of just zucchini.

I used my favorite Marinara Sauce recipe rather than the sauce listed in the original recipe-it's quick, easy and I'm never disappointed in the end result. Since I didn't have cottage cheese, but did have a 15 oz. container of part-skim ricotta cheese, and ricotta is what I normally use in my lasagnas anyway, I used that. It was 1 ounce short of the cottage cheese container called for, but it worked out fine.

I didn't have 4 cups of mozzarella cheese here, but did have a package of Provolone cheese that I wanted to use-added to the 2 cups of mozzarella that was in the deli drawer, I ended up with about 3 1/2 cups total of cheese-a very workable amount.

Rather than sauté the broccoli and carrots, I decided to give them a quick steam to pre-cook them before adding them to the vegetable filling. It took no time at all for them to reach the crisp tender stage. I put them in a bowl, then added them to the sautéed pepper, onion and mushroom mixture, stirring them in before adding the marinara sauce.

It's a good thing I sliced and roasted both the zucchini and summer squash. They were good sized squash, but I actually could have used 1-2 more squash to give a better layer. I also could have used upped the amount of vegetables in the filling. A couple more carrots would definitely do it up right as well as another green pepper and more chopped onion. More mushrooms would be great too...but this was a use-it-up dish so that's what I did.


I can't even begin to describe how good this is. The aroma when it was baking was enough to make me more hungry than I was when I put it in the oven...then waiting the 30 minutes to cut it? Torture, but It's worth the wait. It cut beautifully after it rested for the half hour. If there's one thing I hate it's when I cut lasagna too soon and it turns into a puddle.

Do you miss the pasta in this? Absolutely NOT! Bob-the man who wants some kind of meat-be it chicken, beef or sausage-in lasagna said he didn't miss having meat in it...that with all the vegetables that are packed into it, there's no missing the pasta either.

A slice of this with a nice tossed salad on the side made for one VERY satisfying dinner. I did make the full size so we can have leftovers plus some to freeze for another time.

If you're vegetable lovers like we are, and you have one of those "clean out the crisper drawer before grocery shopping" days-do give this recipe a try. Go ahead and use whatever vegetables are YOUR favorites. I promise, you won't be sorry-and you WON'T miss the pasta!


Carol


NOODLELESS ZUCCHINI LASAGNA
(Source: adapted from Chow.com-recipe by Lisa Lavery. Original recipe found HERE)

MARINARA SAUCE
(Source: adapted from Chef Steve Whiting, culinary arts teacher @ Nashoba Valley Regional Technical High School)

1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 (28 oz.) can Pastene "Kitchen Ready" tomatoes OR 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes or tomato purée (I prefer using the "Kitchen Ready" tomatoes-I like the consistency of the sauce using them)
2 tsp. granulated sugar, or to taste (feel free to omit the sugar if you like)
A generous pinch of dried basil, OR fresh basil, chopped
A generous pinch of dried oregano
Black pepper to taste
1/4 c. grated Romano OR Parmesan cheese

FILLING:
1 (15 oz.) container part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 c. finely shredded Peccorino Romano cheese

VEGETABLE MIXTURE:
1 1/2 lb. zucchini, ends removed, sliced into 1/4" thick slices
1 1/4 lb. summer squash, ends removed, sliced into 1/4" thick slices
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 small head fresh broccoli, cut into florets (about 1 1/2 c.)
2-3 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick (about 1 1/2 c.)
1 1/2 c. sliced cremini mushrooms
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 large sweet onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 c. part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
10 oz. provolone cheese, shredded

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic; sauté for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, basil, oregano, pepper and cheese; cover and simmer over very low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray 2 large baking sheets (about 17x15-inch), with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

For the filling, combine the ricotta, black pepper and Romano cheese in a medium bowl; stir until well combined. Set aside while preparing the vegetables.

Place the sliced zucchini and summer squash on the prepared baking sheets, overlapping slightly if necessary. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, if desired. Bake @ 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the squash is pliable. Place the pans of squash on wire racks and let squash sit until cool enough to handle.

Lightly steam the carrots for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Steam the broccoli florets until crisp tender, about 3 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add the chopped green pepper and onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until the vegetables are crisp tender. Remove from the pan to a medium bowl; add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until tender, stirring occasionally. Return the onions and green peppers to the skillet along with the broccoli and carrots. Sprinkle the vegetables with the flour; stir to coat. Add enough marinara sauce, about 1 1/2 cups, and stir until the vegetables are well coated.

Place the shredded mozzarella and shredded provolone in a large resealable bag. Seal the bag and shake to combine; set aside.

Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over the bottom of the baking dish to coat.

Spread 1/4 of the vegetable mixture, sprinkling vegetables evenly over the bottom of the baking dish.

Top the vegetables with 1/4 of the cooked sliced zucchini and summer squash. placing the squash in a single layer.

With a small spoon, dollop 1/3 of the ricotta mixture onto the zucchini/summer squash; press each dollop with the back of the spoon to flatten.

Evenly sprinkle 1/4 of the mozzarella/provolone cheese mixture over top.

Make 2 more layers of the vegetable mixture, zucchini/summer squash slices, ricotta filling, and mozzarella/provolone cheese mixture. Make a final layer with the remaining zucchini/summer squash slices, then the vegetable mixture, ending with the mozzarella/provolone cheese mixture. Switching up the order of layering keeps the zucchini from burning under the cheese.

Place the baking dish on a large baking sheet with sides. Bake, uncovered, @ 375 degrees for 40 minutes until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and the cheese is lightly browned.

Remove from the oven, place the baking dish on a wire rack and let stand for 30 minutes before slicing. Makes 8-12 servings.