Lasagna
I tried the dog cookie recipe again, but this time I only had 1/2 the pumpkin needed, so I made up the rest with cooked carrots, which I mashed by hand because the blender is not good at pureeing. The dough ended up with a lot of small carrot chunks, but I think that's fine. Memphis loves even raw carrots. This time I tried the cookie cutters. :)
I also made veggie lasagna. My goal was to make it as healthy as possible, and I intended to use eggplant instead of noodles, but I forgot to buy eggplant. I know I read a recipe yesterday for a general idea, but I didn't use it or really follow it when I made the lasagna. Here's what I did. It turned out pretty yummy! It should be lower in fat and salt and higher in vitamins than a traditional meat lasagna.
Mushroom & Broccoli Lasagna
3 pints home-canned tomatoes with basil16 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 jar heart-healthy (reduced sodium) spaghetti sauce (or skip the home-canned and use the whole jar)
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 bunches raw broccoli, florets only
10 baby carrots or 2 regular carrots, finely grated
6 lasagna noodles*
16 oz low fat cottage cheese
8 oz part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup mozarella cheese, shredded
3 tbsp fresh curly parsley
1 tsp Italian herbs seasoning
1/2 cup fresh-grated parmesan cheese
1. Simmer 3 pints of tomatoes in a rice cooker til nice and thick. (Volume reduced by about half. Bonus: if the bottom burns just a little, the tomatoes will smell like sun-dried/fire-roasted tomatoes. Yum.) Stir in 1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce.
2. Sautee mushrooms and garlic. Steam broccoli. Boil lasagna noodles til tender, drain.
3. Mix cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, 1/2 the mozarella, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, parsley and Italian herbs.
4. In an 11x14 casserole dish, add the following layers: 1/3 of the tomato sauce, 3 noodles, 1/2 the cheese & veggie mixture. Repeat the three layers. Add one more layer of tomato sauce, then sprinkle the rest of the mozarella and the parmesan on top.
5. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese on top is a little browned.
*Non-wheat/carb option: slice an eggplant in thin slices, brush with olive oil, roast in the oven until browned and cooked thoroughly. Use the eggplant slices in place of the noodles.
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