Vegetable Lasagna

This is delicious and provides three servings of vegetables in just one serving of lasagna.

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green bell pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 small yellow squash, roughly chopped (~ 2 cups)
1 (15-ounce) container low fat ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan
2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided use
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
1 (28-ounce) jar “healthy” spaghetti sauce (See note)
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-added-salt tomato sauce
4 cups packed raw spinach, chopped (about 5 ounces)
9 ounces oven ready rolled flat noodles

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place a non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add oil. Once the oil is hot add the onion, pepper, squash and garlic. Sauté until the vegetables are soft (~ 6 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan, and 1 ½ cup mozzarella cheese with the eggs, milk and Italian herbs. Mix well. In a second large bowl, mix together the pasta sauce, spinach and squash mixture.

Spread ½ of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 12 inch baking pan. Place one-fourth of the oven-ready lasagna noodles (4 noodles) over the sauce. Spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture over the noodles; top with 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce mixture. Repeat layering twice. Top with remaining noodles and last half of the tomato sauce.

Wrap the lasagna tightly with a double layer of foil (Spray the layer of foil that comes in contact with the food with vegetable oil cooking spray to keep it from sticking). Bake for 60 minutes. Uncover and top with the remaining cup of cheese, pop back in the oven for 5 minutes to melt cheese. Remove and allow the lasagna to set for 15-20 minutes. Cut and enjoy!

Quicker Fix: Pre-cup squash and zucchini can be found in the produce section or the freezer section. To use these in the lasagna replace the fresh squash with one (12-ounce) package pre-cut vegetables. Note: if using frozen vegetables the lasagna will be a little more “soupy”.

Yield: 12 Servings
Nutrition Breakdown: Calories 270, Fat 8g (4g saturated fat), Cholesterol 50mg, Sodium 140mg, Carbohydrate 32g, Fiber 4g, Protein 16g.
Percent Daily Value: 25% Vitamin A, 30% Vitamin C, 35% Calcium, 10% Iron
Carbohydrate Choice: 2 Carbohydrates
Diabetes Exchange Values: 1 Starch, 3 Vegetables, 2 Medium fat meats