Recipe: Vegetable lasagna

It's spring and time to celebrate with the ingesting of many fresh veggies! Here's a recipe I'm really excited about making since I found whole wheat lasagna noodles at Target in the Cities yesterday (yes, I know -- probably most of the world has access to those in regular life. We, on the other hand, have to drive an hour or so to find them. It's a real triumph here.)

FYI, I adapted this a tiny bit from Rachael Ray. Her original used cheese ravioli instead of lasagna to cut the time. But this doesn't take much longer and I find that we don't usually miss the extra cheese.

Vegetable lasagna
1-2 large packages chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic chopped
1 can quartered artichokes, drained and chopped
3 zucchini, shredded, squeezed dry
1 package mushrooms, chopped
1 lb asparagus, lightly steamed, and cut into 1-2 in pieces

1 package lasagna noodles

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock (or veggie is good, too)
1/2 cup cream or half-and-half (or you can use evaporated milk too)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and black pepper

2 cups grated mozzarella, provolone or Italian Cheese blend

Boil water for lasagna.

Meanwhile, add olive oil to a skillet then add mushrooms and zucchini. Cook for a bit til mushrooms release water, then drain. Add a teeny bit more oil and garlic, cook for a bit, then add shpinach and artichokes til heated through. Remove from skillet.

Place skillet back on the heat and melt butter. Whisk flour into butter and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk stock into flour and butter and let it bubble. Whisk in cream and Parmesan. Season sauce and let cook for a couple of minutes til thick.

Cook lasagna noodles according to directions. In last 3-5 minutes of cooking, add the asparagus spears to a steamer basket or colander and let steam til just tender. When noodles are done, drain. Add the asparagus to the other veggies.

For traditional lasagna: Put a small bit of sauce in a baking dish (just so noodles don't stick) and add noodles, then add one half of veggie mix. Add about one third the sauce. Then add more noodles, more veggies and next 1/3 sauce. Then finally noodles, sauce and cheese. Put in 350 degree oven and bake until cheese is bubbly, or just put under the broiler til cheese is bubbly.

For non-traditional lasagna roll-ups: Put some sauce in the bottom of the pan, then spread veggie mix on a lasagna noodle, roll up and place in the pan. Continue til done, then pour remaining sauce over the top and add cheese. Again, cook in 350 degree oven, if you have the time, or broil if not.

Note -- if you really like alfredo sauce, you may want to make a bit more. I try to keep mine on the non-saucy side to cut the caloric intake.

Hope y'all enjoy!!