Really Easy Lasagna

 Originally published October 3, 2011

This lasagna is really the first thing I ever prepared for a meal that involved cutting multiple vegetables and more than 20 minutes to cook. But it was a great entrée into cooking. Even if the pasta sauce is a bit of a cheat.

The recipe is one I clipped from The Commercial Appeal's food section many years ago called Mother-In-Law's Birthday Lasagna; the moniker given because it was easy to throw together when you needed to quickly prepare a meal for a number of people but you still need to have time to socialize. Prep time for this is only about 20 minutes and assembly is easy.

I've changed it a lot over the years and even since I've started this blog. It's even simpler and easier to prepare. Essentially, you chop vegetables, you throw them in a bowl and then layer them with sauce, noodles and cheese. Cook for an hour, let sit, eat. And you can put whatever fillings you want in there. I'll post what I use, but you can add whatever you can cram in there:

• crumble some firm silken tofu on a layer for an extra protein boost and/or to mimic the
texture of ricotta cheese (I don't use ricotta--it doesn't add much for me, personally)
• roast a few handfuls of broccoli and add them to a layer
• sprinkle a layer of vegetables with leaves of fresh spinach
• crumbled tempeh
• cannelini beans, white beans, or kidney beans (already cooked)
• nothing but cheese; if you don't like vegetables, just put a whole bunch of cheese in it
• Don't feel like chopping? You can find plenty of pre-cut veggies in the freezer section.
• okay, okay, you can put some ground beef in there, too. But I don't recommend it. Obvs.

But here's what I like to put in mine. I've gotten some rave reviews, too.

Really Easy Lasagna
serves 6-8

1 pound sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1-2 yellow squashes
1 medium zucchini
5-8 ounces (about half a bag) shredded carrots
1 jar (26 ounces) pasta sauce (I like Newman's Own marinara or Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic)
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce (the flavored sauces, such as roasted garlic or basil are perfect)
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs, basil and/or oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil
9 lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I like Sargento)

Rinse the mushrooms and saute over medium heat about five minutes (or until most of the water cooks out).

Cut the squash and zucchini into 1/4-inch (or so) slices and then quarter the slices and put into a medium size bowl. Add the mushrooms when they've cooled a bit and the carrots and stir to mix them all together.

In a separate (large) bowl, combine the pasta and tomato sauces and add the extra seasoning. Stir and add more to taste.

In a 9x13 pan (glass or aluminum), spread the olive oil in the bottom and along the sides. Then pour and spread one cup of the sauce. Place three noodles on top of the sauce.

Spread half the bowl of vegetables over the noodles (evenly). Then sprinkle half the cheese over the vegetables. Cover the cheese with about 1 1/2 cups of sauce and place three more noodles on top.

Spread the other half of the vegetables over the noodles, then the rest of the cheese and pour on another cup and a half of sauce. Then place three more noodles on top and the remainder of the sauce on top of the noodles (make sure all are covered with sauce). Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350°F for one hour, cooking uncovered for the last 15 minutes. Let stand 15-30 minutes before serving.

In short, what you really need to keep in mind to make it even easier:

1. sauce
2. noodles
3. filling
4. cheese
5. sauce
6. noodles
7. filling
8. cheese
9. sauce
10. noodles
11. sauce

You don't have to sauté the mushrooms, but it helps to cook out some of the water. If you've got other juicy fillings (such as frozen spinach), they need to be cooked down or drained well first (example: roasting broccoli). The lasagna will eventually soak up all the water, but it would have to stand longer than half an hour after baking.

This is not only great to serve for a small dinner party, it's a great dish to prepare and send to a friend (cooked or uncooked) on any of those occasions when you send food (family in the hospital, funeral, new baby). And certainly if you need to hide vegetables in other food to get your picky eater kids to eat them (as a child, anything was more palatable to me with tomato sauce on it, particularly broccoli!). The leftovers actually taste better, particularly when you add some good herbs (I also like to add dried rosemary sometimes). And if you're part of a small family (single or there's just two of you), you can make this and eat for days.