Lasagna Secrets

My vegetarian friend came over for dinner the other night. Anytime I am entertaining a vegetarian guest, I tend to pull out the lasagna guns. In this instance, I had foolproof roasting veggies on hand. We've got some chanterelle mushrooms, garlic, eggplant, button mushrooms and tomatoes. Mmmmmm, here we go.

Coat the veggies in olive oil and roasted red pepper flakes (that is one of my secret ingredients). Sometimes if I have it, I use a DAB (just a dab) of chili paste. Roast the veggies at 375 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Oven temps and cooking times vary so check on them often. Try not to over cook them or they will dry out.

roasted veggies (experiment, have fun)
1 bunch spinach
3 cloves garlic
1 tbs butter
1 16 oz container of cottage cheese or ricotta (I usually use cottage cheese because I have it on hand)
parmesean, mozzarella, asiago blend
1 pkg whole wheat lasagna noodles (cooked)
1 jar of homemade marinara sauce (or whatever brand you prefer)
3 tbs homemade kalamata olive tapenade
1 half of an onion
1 egg

Meanwhile, saute butter, garlic and 1/4 of the onion in a medium sized frying pan. Add spinach and saute until cooked. Remove from heat and put aside.

In a mixing bowl, add egg, cottage cheese, a little bit of the cheese blend, spinach mixture and tapenade. Stir together and set aside.

Saute the remaining 1/4 onion in butter until carmelized. Add the marinara sauce and season to taste.

Take a 13x9 inch casserole dish and put some marinara sauce on the very bottom. Lay noodles on top of that, then your cheese mixture, veggies, more sauce, mozzarella blend and then repeat the layers until you run out of ingredients, or room.

Yes, please!