Veggie Loaded Lasagna Casserole one for now, one for later

How many declarations of my love of a specific food can I make before it is officially declared as sad? Oh, I get a couple more? Okay then, I LOVE LASAGNA!!!

I am fond of any pasta with cheese on it. (And then they solved the mystery of Lydia's giant rear end.)

Last week I wanted to make vegeterian lasagna. Once a week we go meatless for dinner. No fish. No meat. Nothing. I figure if I put enough cheese on it my carnivore husband won't notice. ;)

So I was busy preparing my veggie loaded lasagna when I realized I didn't have any lasagna noodles. But I had seen a recipe for lasagna casserole so I decided to just make that. Only later when moving some things around in my cabinet I found an unopened box of lasagna noodles! For real! I need some sort of pantry inventory system. Suggestions?

At any rate. The casserole turned out fantastic and I had enough to make two pans, one for now and one to freeze.

So here it is folks. YOU will be amazed. (Well, maybe not.)

I made this with several left over ingredients, including some cucumber I blended into the sauce to make it thicker (I have left this part out of the recipe. It is super optional). I also had some leftover kale from making a kale, apple and quinoa salad so I threw that in their too. 

What you'll need: (Note, this makes two pans)

16 ounce box of rotini (or ziti)

1 jar of pasta sauce

2 tomatoes that you pealed or a 12 oz. can of tomatoes

container frozen spinach

1 onion

4 carrots, grated

2 cups Kale

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 container part skim ricotta cheese (some people use cottage cheese. It turns out really good actually.)

2 cups grated mozzarella

1 egg

dried basil or oregano

Preheat your oven to 350.

Cook your pasta pretty al dente. I would say cook it for only about 6 minutes, then drain but don't rinse.

In a greased skillet cook your onions and mushrooms over a low heat. Sprinkle with some basil.

Get a sauce pan warmed up and put your sauce, tomatoes and carrots in there. Let simmer for about 10 minutes to cook the carrots slightly. You don't want them mushy, but you probably don't want them overly crunchy either.

Once your onions and mushrooms have cooked down a little bit, put the spinach and kale into the same skillet and cover.

In a bowl combine your ricotta cheese, egg and one cup mozzarella. Stir together.

Grease your casserole dish and place a smidgen of sauce in the bottom. Then place some noodles in the pan, cover with the spinach/mushroom/onion/kale mix from your skillet. Add a your ricotta cheese mixture and then stir together. Cover in sauce and cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

If you are making a pan for the freezer, skip the baking part. To bake your frozen pan later, let thaw overnight in the fridge and then bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Spinach and Bacon Ziti

Want a quick meal? Yeah, me too. We all do. Sometimes coming up with dinner, cooking that dinner and getting it on the table is exhausting. How many times have you stood at your refrigerator's open door at 5:30 p.m. just waiting for dinner to materialize? 

This recipe is easy and fast and you probably have most of the ingredients. 

What you'll need:

One package bacon rendered in the oven (cook for 10 minutes at 400)
Two cups cooked whole wheat Penne
2 - 4 diced tomatoes
1 bag baby spinach 
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups mozzarella cheese 
some grated parmesan cheese
A smidge olive oil
1 package baby bella mushrooms

Heat up your electric skillet to 350 and warm the olive oil. Add your tomatoes and mushrooms and garlic. Let them cook for a few minutes. Add your bacon and then your pasta and basil. Add your spinach and cheese, cover and let cook for 10 minutes. 

If you don't have an electric skillet use a skillet on the stove, then before you add your cheese transfer to a baking dish, add cheese and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Prosciutto and Kale with Orzo

Kale! Kale! Kale! It's not just for making chips and soup no one wants to eat. I was sure of that. I had half a bag of kale left over last week and since I am now living a waste not want not lifestyle I really didn't want it to go to waste.

So I thought and I walked around my kitchen and I pulled everything out of my cabinets and then it came to me! One of my favorite things to make is a pizza with caramelized onions and prosciutto. The salty and the sweet are incredible together.

What if I took my favorite elements of the pizza and made pasta I could throw in some baby bella mushrooms and the kale and the meaty baby bella and the bitter kale would balance each other. Right? Yes!

What you'll need:

Prosciutto a 3 0z package (I got mine on sale at Publix for $3.99)

1 medium size sweet onion

2 Roma tomatoes

4 cups Kale (it cooks down)

1 carton baby bella mushrooms (regular white button mushrooms or canned mushrooms could work too)

Garlic (duh) 3 cloves or one tbsp minced.

Orzo

Get your Orzo going according to the instructions.

Heat up your oven for 350 and placed your Prosciutto in a greased cookie sheet. You will cook the Prosciutto in the oven for 8 minutes until it renders. (Becomes crispy.)

Break it into pieces and place in a serving bowl.

Heat up your skillet over a medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add your chopped onion. It will take 30 minutes to properly caramelize. (But that's not quick? I know. I didn't say this would be fast.)

Add your minced garlic once the carmelzation process seems good and almost done.

Chop up your tomatoes and place it in a bowl with the Prosciutto.

Add your kale and mushrooms to the skillet with the onions and cook for about 5 minutes. You don't want the leaves mushy.

Once your orzo is finished put it in the bowl with the Prosciutto and tomatoes.

Add the onion, Kale, mushroom mixture to the orzo and mix everything together. This is a really good mix of flavors. Believe me.

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