Meatless Lasagna

MEATLESS LASAGNA adapted from ( Recipes for a Small Planet)

lasagna noodles, cooked

1 med onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 28oz canned tomatoes

1+ lb. mushrooms, chopped (I use a variety. Recipe calls for white button)

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup ricotta

1 cup cottage cheese (I have used 2 cups of cottage cheese & no ricotta before)

1 egg

1/2 cup parm cheese

3/4 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded

any herbs you may have on hand (Recipe calls for dried oregano, basil, & parsley)

Pre-cook noodles, set aside. Saute' onions & garlic. Add tomatoes, herbs, mushrooms and kidney beans. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta, cottage cheese and egg. (I also add some Locatelli or parm to the mixture, your choice.) Layer lasagna. A tiny bit of sauce, noodles, 1/3 of remaining sauce,1/3 of the ricotta/cottage cheese mixture, 1/3 mozz.cheese, 1/3 parm. cheese, noodles. Repeat with 2 more layers, ending with parm cheese. Bake @ 375* for 30 minutes.

The "Hearty Vegetable Lasagna w/ Mushrooms" can be found on: justveggingout.com. I did make a few changes. I added a ricotta layer when layering, although it's not necessary. Used a variety of mushrooms...shitake, portabellas, white button, etc. Changed out the yellow squash layer, using zucchini slices instead. Used 2 eggplants, not just one. I have a mandoline, so I used long slices of all of the veggies, instead of small slices as pictured on the site. Another big change with the veggies is I did not saute' them in a pan. I baked the slices in the oven til they were soft, about 10 minutes. This is my new favorite. Enjoy!!! (thanks Nathalie)