Lasagna Recipe:
1 jar prepared pasta sauce(As much as I love to cook, I have never been able to make sauce better than Our Lady of Mount Carmel jarred sauce. Sometimes you just have to admit defeat and go with the jarred stuff. However, if you are a sauce aficionado feel free to use homemade!)
1 box tinkyada brown rice lasagna noodles
1 C spinach basil pesto (see recipe below)
1 (15-ounce) container part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 bag baby spinach
1 jar roasted red peppers
1 1/2 C part skim mozzarella cheese, grated
Pesto:
1/2 bag baby spinach
1 1/2 C fresh basil
1 handful pine nuts
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C flax oil
1 handful grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat over at 350 degrees. Start pot of water to boil according to directions on noodle package. In a food processor combine spinach, basil, pine nuts, and cheese. Add about half of the extra virgin olive oil and start processor. As ingredients begin to combine alternate slowly adding flax oil and olive oil until the pesto reaches desired consistency. Set aside the finished pesto. By this time your water should be boiling and you can add the noodles to cook.In a medium size bowl combine ricotta cheese and pesto.(oops, meant to take a picture of this and forgot. I was so excited for this dinner!) Remove roasted red peppers from the jar and slice them into bit size pieces. Once noodles are finished cooking strain and rinse with cool water (this will save you from burning your fingers as you work with the noodles).
Put a small amount of sauce in the bottle of a 9X13 pan. Add your first layer of noodles, smear ricotta and pesto combination onto the noodles. Add a handful or two of baby spinach, sprinkle with roasted red peppers, and top with a layer of mozzarella cheeses. Top each layer with a small amount of sauce. Repeat layers until you've run out of ingredients. The spinach is fluffy, so you're going to have to squish it down to make it all fit.
Cook uncovered 30 minutes or until the cheese on top has just started to brown. The edges will start to pull away from the pan and look crispy.
Verdict:
OK...not to toot my own horn but this was AMAZING! The cheese was stringy, the pesto add a depth in flavor you don't typically get from traditional lasagna, and the brown rice noodles were the perfect texture. While this might not be a meal you want to add into a weekly rotation if you are counting calories, it is one you can make to satisfy a craving or for a special occasion and not blow you whole diet!
