One of my favorite meals growing up was lasagna. My mother usually just mixed all the ingredients for lasagna in a big pot with regular, small pasta shapes. She called it “Lazy Man’s Lasagna” and it was good, though lacking in vegetable goodness. When I got older I would often crave lasagna and buy one of those frozen trays. Again, good, but also lacking in much nutrition.
One of the struggles of raising kids (as Jessica Seinfeld knows) is how to get them to eat vegetables. I got the idea for this recipe from Donna Hay magazine. I’ve mentioned her cookbooks before and I cannot say how much I enjoy her food. Anyway, this recipe is for a vegetable lasagna that is both healthy and full of cheesy goodness. I’ve altered her recipe a bit, added sweet potato and omitted the tomato from her original recipe. I feel with the squash and the sweet potato it is more of a vegetable stack rather than a lasagna, but you don’t have to tell your kids that.
Serves 6
2 10 oz packages of frozen, chopped spinach
1 lb ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 egg
Salt and pepper
1 12 oz package lasagna noodles
20 oz butternut squash, sliced thin
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
7 oz sliced mozzarella
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 375.
In a large pot of boiling water prepare a package of lasagna noodles according to the directions. Set aside.
Defrost the spinach according to the package directions and place in a kitchen towel and squeeze out the excess moisture. Set aside. Combine the ricotta, grated mozzarella, egg, salt and pepper and set aside.
Grease an 8 x 10 oven proof dish. Layer the base with the pasta and continue with 1/2 the ricotta mixture, 1/2 the squash, pasta, the sweet potato, spinach, pasta and the remaining ricotta mixture, squash and pasta. Top with the mozzarella and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Serve with a nice crusty loaf of bread and a green salad.
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