The time has come to make meals that can be thrown in the freezer to eat a couple of weeks from now when I'm told I will be too tired to call Dominos and walk to the front door to pick up the delivery. Or maybe there is something about wanting to actually have some form of vegetables ready to eat without too much effort. Either way, I made lasagna. And, of course, Jake and I had to eat some before throwing the rest in the freezer. We were impressed.
How could it not be good? It is filled with cream sauce... starting with a stick of butter! That can make even the scariest of vegetables taste like chocolate. Or something like that. Either way, it was good. And it makes a lot of servings, so don't feel too bad. Plus, it has tons of vegetables and is really filling. So... there!
Since there are still a pretty good number of fresh veggies in season most of the ones I used were fresh, but I did use frozen peas. I just didn't have the patience to deal with fresh ones. But really, there are a lot of frozen vegetables out there that are really good so you could easily make this any time of year. And you can throw in whatever ones you happen to like. I could see someone using mushrooms or spinach with success. Don't be shy with the veggies!
White Vegetable Lasagna:
For the sauce: 1 large onion, diced 1 stick of butter 1 Tbsp. chopped garlic 2 cups heavy cream 1 cup milk 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
For the lasagna: 1 box of lasagna pasta (I use the no-boil kind, just make sure there is plenty of moisture covering them or else the noodles can end up dry) 1 15-16 oz container of ricotta cheese 1 cup grated parmesan 1 egg 4 cups mozzarella cheese 1/2 Tbsp. dried Italian spices 6 cups of chopped or thinly sliced vegetables, such as peppers, peas, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.
In a large skillet, cook the butter and onion for about 10 minutes, until the onion is soft. Add in the garlic, cream, milk, and cheese and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted and everything is combined. Probably about 5 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, the other cup of parmesan, egg, 2 cups of mozzarella, and the spices.
Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and put a ladle of cream sauce to lightly cover the bottom. Add a layer of pasta, then smear on a layer of the ricotta mixture as evenly as possible. Cover with vegetables, sprinkle with mozzarella, and then evenly ladle on another layer of cream sauce. Then repeat approximately 4 times until you have used all of the ingredients, making the last layer end with a topping of mozzarella.
Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Tent the foil so that it isn't touching the cheese. Then bake uncovered for another 10 minutes.