No Mushroom Veggie Lasagna

I've always wanted to try making Vegetable Lasagna, but have had trouble because nearly every recipe I have found includes lots of mushrooms. I don't have too many foods that I dislike, but mushrooms are pretty high up the list. So this weekend, I decided to just wing it and create my own recipe. The confidence that I'm getting from trying so many new recipes with this blog is really what made this recipe come together. I loosely based the recipe off a Cooking Light recipe, but I pretty much just used it for proportions and cook time and the rest was up to me! I used all the vegetables we like the most and also used whole wheat lasagna noodles and low fat mozzerella, so this ended up being a very hearty and healthy meal. I did slightly overcook it because I was on the phone with my mother in law, who I haven't spoken to in a while and lost track of time a bit. The pictures came out a little dark looking because of that, but other than that, I wouldn't change a thing!

Vegetarian Lasagna

1 Tbs olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced

3/4 cup diced zucchini

2 cloves garlic

3/4 cup chopped broccoli

1 bottle jarred tomato pasta sauce (we love Ragu)

15 oz low fat or fat free ricotta cheese

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 cup low fat mozzarella cheese

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked & cooled according to directions

Preheat oven to 375. Heat oil over medium high heat in large saute pan. Saute veggies, starting with onion, then zucchini, then peppers, then garlic, then broccoli, allowing about 1-2 minutes in between each before adding in the next veggie. Veggies should be just getting some color to them when done. In medium bowl, mix ricotta with dried herbs (or substitute fresh). Add about 1/2 cup pasta sauce to 9" x 12" baking pan and spread evenly. Add remaining sauce to veggies and mix to combine. Lay 3 cooked lasagna noodles over the sauce in the baking pan. Top noodles with about 1/2 the ricotta mixture and smooth as evenly as possible. Top with 1/3 (about a cup) of veggie mixture and spread to even out. Top with 3 more noodles and repeat layers, ending with pasta topped with last 1/3 of veggie mixture. Top with mozzarella cheese and cover with foil. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then remove foil for last 15-20 minutes. Makes 6 very filling servings.

Nutrition Info: Calories: 382.3, Fat: 11.7g (4.5 Sat, 1.5 Poly, 3.9 Mono), Fiber: 7.8g, Carbs: 51.8g