Rebellious lasagna.

   No meat, no tomato sauce, lots of mushrooms and roasted bell peppers - not your usual lasagna! I created this recipe for two reasons: 1) I needed a vegetarian version of a dish that Christopher loves (since he already eats a lot of meat) and 2) I needed to create something different than my previous lasagna (that can be found here). So I used some old (ricotta and spinach) and new (mushroom and roasted bell peppers) tricks and it turned out great. Both of my boys loved it. Actually, all three of my boys loved it, because Christoper decided to share it with Spikey - our dog. He seemed to really enjoy it! The recipe makes a large (and I mean large and deep) baking dish. I shared it with few of my friends, but you can also freeze it and enjoy it later.

Ingredients:

* 16oz oven ready lasagna pasta
* 2lb ricotta cheese
* 1lb frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
* 1 16oz jar of roasted bell peppers
* 1 egg
* 32oz mushrooms, chopped
* 1tbsp olive oil
* 3 cups whole milk
* 2 tbsp butter
* 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
* 8oz mozzarella cheese
* salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Mushroom sauce:
     - In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and saute mushrooms with a little bit of salt until soft and tender (10 minutes). Transfer mushroom into the strainer to drain.
     - In the same skillet, melt butter, add flour and cook for 2-3 minutes constantly mixing.  Slowly add milk (whisking!) and cook the sauce for 5-6 minutes until thick (whisking!).
     - Add drained mushroom, season with salt and pepper.
2. Ricotta mix:
     - In a large bowl combine ricotta cheese, drained spinach and chopped roasted bell peppers.
     - Add 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, season with salt and pepper and mix everything together.
     - Add egg and mix to combine.
3. Assemble lasagna by layering:
     - 1 spoon of a mushroom sauce on the bottom of the baking dish
     - layer of pasta
     - half of the ricotta cheese
     - pasta
     - half of mushroom sauce (reserve a spoon of sauce), a little bit of mozzarella cheese on the top
     - pasta
     - ricotta mix
     - pasta
     - mushroom sauce
     - pasta
     - top the last layer of pasta with the reserved mushroom sauce (to keep it moist) and cover with mozzarella cheese
4. Bake covered with foil at 400F for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for additional 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

   It's really creamy and flavorful. Lots of veggies, lots of mushrooms, lots of cheese - what not to like?

Enjoy,
Magda