When I announce that it is Meatless Monday, there are groans from the men in my family. But Jordan and I love it. I have discovered that when I decide to go vegetarian for a night, what seems to make it ok with the men is how complicated the dish is. If I just throw out some lettuce and a few veggies, they protest but if the dish has many ingredients, they seem to calm down a bit. This recipe for sure has several ingredients and it looks hearty and it tastes great! Plus I get to use up a bunch of zucchini from the garden. So it’s a win win.
When I was a kid, my mom used cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese in lasagna. I know, gasp. Well, this recipe calls for cottage cheese and I love it. I got this recipe from Iowa Girl Eats, but I modified it a bit. The recipe calls for a combo of zucchini and yellow squash, but I was too lazy to walk out to the garden, so I made this dish with just zucchini. Ready to get started?
Add lasagna noodles to a large pot of salted, boiling water. Cook until al dente, drain and rinse well. Set aside for later use.
Heat olive oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes, then add garlic and saute for 30 more seconds.
Add zucchini and summer squash, season with salt and pepper, Italian seasoning and the red pepper flakes.
Sauté until just slightly starting to turn translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add marinara sauce…
turn heat down to medium/medium-low, then simmer until zucchini and squash are tender. Do not over-cook or vegetables will be mushy.
In a large bowl combine drained cottage cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and chopped basil and some fresh ground pepper, then set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees then spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick spray. I use a pretty large pan, so you may need to modify this a bit. Spread a small amount of the vegetable/sauce mixture onto the bottom of your pan then layer 4 + cooked lasagna noodles followed by 1/4 of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/4 of the remaining vegetable/sauce mixture, and 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers 3 more times.
Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and remaining parmesan cheese on top then cover pan with nonstick sprayed foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil then bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Let rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
We served with a green salad, French bread and fruit. It was delicious. Jordan had some cold the other day for lunch and she said it was great! Which is just a weird family thing to do around here. Cold pizza is one thing, but they will eat almost anything cold. Sometimes I think Alex prefers his food cold. Watch for more Meatless Monday recipes in the future.
Veggie Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 full box of lasagna noodles
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 medium yellow summer squash, chopped
salt & pepper
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 jars of your favorite marinara sauce
24oz fat-free cottage cheese, drained well
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup packed fresh basil, chopped
16 ounce shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
Add lasagna noodles to a large pot of salted, boiling water. Cook until al dente, drain and rinse well. Set aside for later use.
Heat olive oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until translucent, 3-4 minutes, then add garlic and saute for 30 more seconds. Add zucchini and summer squash, season with salt and pepper, Italian seasoning and the red pepper flakes. Sauté until just slightly starting to turn translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add marinara sauce, turn heat down to medium/medium-low, then simmer until zucchini and squash are tender. Do not over-cook or vegetables will be mushy.
In a large bowl combine drained cottage cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and chopped basil and some fresh ground pepper, then set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees then spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick spray. I use a pretty large pan, so you may need to modify this a bit. Spread a small amount of the vegetable/sauce mixture onto the bottom of your pan then layer 4 + cooked lasagna noodles followed by 1/4 of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/4 of the remaining vegetable/sauce mixture, and 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers 3 more times.
Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and remaining parmesan cheese on top then cover pan with nonstick sprayed foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil then bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Let rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Cindy
My Daughter and I 