Veggie Lasagna

This recipe was a gift from my friend Jen. And I really mean that. I had heard her talk about her love for veggie lasagna for a few years and finally mustered the courage to ask her for the recipe. The result has been true love.

At least it has been for a little more than half of our family. We usually only make this during the summer because that's when all of the required vegetables are growing in our back yard (okay, at least many of them). Several of our children say they perfer this version of lasagna to its more traditional sister. The rest of the kids like it well enough to eat it without complaining.

I've found that you can mix up the combination of vegetables quite a bit. For example, you'll notice that the photo above shows off the spinach I included. If I don't have spinach, I leave it out (although including it is my preferance). It's also prettier with summer squash and zucchini because of the color differences (the same is true for multi-colored peppers). But I've also made it with whatever I happened to have on hand and it's delicious.

Vegetable Lasagna

2 medium bell peppers, thinly sliced
2 medium zucchini sliced (I have sliced them both lengthwise and cross wise. I am still undecided about which method I prefer).
1 medium onion sliced
½ pound mushrooms cleaned and sliced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried parsley
Freshly ground pepper to taste
9 lasagna noodles
1-2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce ( Jen always uses Prego Italian sausage; I use whatever is stockpiled in my basement that was on sale for $1, usually Ragu traditional. It is sacreligious, I know, but I also sometimes sneak in about 1/2 pound of cooked sausage).

For the veggies: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put cut vegetables in a large bowl. Use olive oil, salt, seasonings, pepper and salt. Mix until the vegetables are lightly and evenly coated. Spray a jelly roll pan with cooking spray and spread veggies on it evenly. Bake for a total of 20 minutes (I usually take them out at the ten minute mark to toss them for more even roasting.

While veggies are in the oven, cook the noodles according to package directions. Reduce oven to 400 degrees. Spread a bit of the sauce on the bottom of pan then layer noodles, sauce, veggies, cheese. You will end up with three layers. Bake uncovered at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Let stand for 10 before cutting.