Saturday, January 30, 2010

Hiatus

On hiatus for a while to deal with family stuff.

Facebook/Twitter/MSN me any time.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Vegetable Lasagna Recipe

Let's not talk about what's going on in my life right now on this blog. Let's talk about a really good recipe I made yesterday.

I made the best vegetable lasagna ever yesterday. It says it feeds six. A two-year-old and three adults polished off half of the pan, so six is probably pretty close. We had garlic bread with it, too. My measurements aren't exact.

Ingredients

olive oil
handful of sliced mushrooms
one small sliced zucchini (could have used two)
two sliced carrots (I used my mandoline to slice them really thin)
one chopped red bell pepper
1 small chopped red onion
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15oz can tomato sauce
handful of fresh basil, torn up
garlic to taste (I used about three cloves, minced)
2 tablespoons pesto (I think I used more - didn't measure)
1 15 oz carton ricotta cheese (I used fat free and it came out just fine)
hot cooked lasagna noodles (about 6 ounces uncooked), cut in half (I used almost a whole 8oz box of the no-bake kind of lasagna noodles - I'm lazy)
shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375º.

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, pepper, and onion; cook until the onions are translucent and soft, stirring frequently. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basic, and garlic; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Maybe add some ground pepper.

Combine pesto and ricotta in a bowl. Spread 1/2 cup tomato mixture in the bottom of a baking dish or pan coated with cooking spray (I used about a 9x13 but anything will work. It's lasagna! Arrange noodle halves over tomato mixture. Top noodles with ricotta mixture (enough to cover noodles) and about 1 cup tomato mixture. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining tomato mixture over noodles. Top with mozzarella to taste.

Cover and bake at 375º for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.

Note: To make ahead, assemble as directed; stop before baking. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature; bake as directed.

This was originally a "Cooking Light" recipe but I've modified it slightly for the ingredients we had and for taste. I did add a pound of hamburger to the sauce, but don't think I would do that again, honestly. When I make it again, I'd probably double the ricotta/basil mixture, but I like a lot of cheese.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

A comment on spring

Spring is almost here. Winter is almost over here in Minnesota, and we can see the deer wandering around now.