Veggie Lasagna

So I know a lot of my posts have been about food lately. What can I say, I love food! And even more, I love to cook. (Maybe that's why I loved Julie and Julia so much.) But we don't just eat all junk! (At least, not Christian :) ) In fact check out what our groceries usually look like.


I don't know if it's all the general healthy eating that makes me crave the sweets so bad, or if it's just in my genes, but I thought I'd post a healthy family favorite. Veggie Lasagna! YUM! You'll have to forgive my directions. I am not the best at measuring. I just try and make it "look right!" :)

Boil Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles according to package directions. We've also used Gluten Free Rice Noodles. Both work great!
While Noodles are cooking chop up 1 yellow squash, and 1-2 zucchini squash depending on size (should be about the same amount of each) Also chop up 6 or so good size mushrooms. Saute those all together in a pan on the stove. Ours looks something like this.

Now I know it's called Veggie Lasagna, but sometimes we put ground beef in it too. If you are going to do that, then brown the hamburger first and set aside in another bowl, then saute above veggies in that grease. Otherwise, add a little olive oil to the pan.

While that's cooking you can chop the spinach. Just a good size handful. (maybe 2 cups?) And spoon 2 C cottage cheese (16oz) into another bowl.

Chop it pretty good! It shrinks down the more you chop!

Then Combine the Spinach and the Cottage Cheese! This is a yummy snack in and of itself.

Once your veggies are done to your liking, (this is where you would add the hamburger back in) open up a can of HUNTS Garlic and Herb Spaghetti Sauce. (The reason I use Hunts is because it's a spaghetti sauce that doesn't have any added sugars. No High Fructose Corn Syrup, etc. Tomatoes are sweet on their own. So....that's why :) And it's like .83 a can at Walmart! :)
Pour that sauce in with the meat and veggies.


Now you are ready to layer. I notice I do this in a slightly different order than most. But here's what we do.
Place a 9X9 pan on a cookie sheet. (It gets pretty mountainous!) This helps you to avoid cleaning in the oven after you make this meal, because it WILL bubble over.

In a 9X9 square pan:
Layer 1- Noodles (i do 4 across, slightly overlapping)
Layer 2- 1/2 of the Cottage Cheese/ spinach mix
Layer 3- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (probably about 1 C)
Layer 4- 1/2 of the Veggie/ meat/ Sauce
Layer 5- Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese
Layer 6- Noodles (again 4 more )
Layer 7- other 1/2 of the Cottage Cheese/ spinach mix
Layer 8- Another cup of mozzarella cheese
Layer 9- other half of Veggie/ meat/ Sauce
Layer 10- Sprinkle again with Parmesan Cheese.
And there you have it! ( This picture was taken before the last layer of cheese was sprinkled on top.)


Bake at 375 for 30-40 min, or until bubbly, melted and smells amazing! Okay, now I'm hungry.
Looks like I even put tin foil on the cookie sheet under the dish. I won't lie, it does get messy, but tastes oh so yummy! Like most lasagnas you can't cut this into perfect pieces. It all just kind of falls onto itself. You just kind of scoop out a chunk. But leftovers cut more perfectly....if you have any to save! :)
Bon Apetit!