Satisfying comfort food...Vegetable Lasagna

Now we're talking comfort food:

Make this yummy, comfort dish and serve for a weeknight dinner or freeze for a future gathering. I make a couple and put one away as emergency food.....for grandkids who drop in out of the blue and expect red carpet treatment from their grandma every time. It freezes great for weeks and is a very satisfying dish.

Total Time: 2:10

Cook: 1:30

Serves: 15

Ingredients

• 2½ c. ricotta cheese
• 1 c. pecorino romano cheese
• 3 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 tbsp. dried basil
• 1 large Egg
• 1 tsp. salt, pepper, crushed red pepper
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. cremini mushrooms
• 1 large onion
• 2 red and yellow bell peppers
• 12 oz. fresh baby spinach
• 4½ c. marinara sauce
• 1 lb. no-boil lasagna noodles
• 1½ lb. fresh mozzarella cheese

Directions

Make the fillings: Combine the ricotta and Pecorino Romano cheeses, garlic, herbs, and egg with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and the crushed red pepper in a bowl and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, onions, and peppers and cook until slightly softened, about 4 more minutes. Add the spinach and remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Toss and cook until spinach is wilted and tender, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Assemble the lasagna: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour 1 1/2 cups sauce into a deep-dish lasagna pan. Layer 5 lasagna noodles over the sauce. Top with half of the cooked vegetables and a third of the mozzarella. Layer with 5 more noodles and spread half the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Top with 1 cup of sauce and add another layer of noodles. Add the remaining vegetables, another third of the mozzarella, and a layer of noodles. Spread on the remaining ricotta mixture, 1 cup of sauce, and the last layer of noodles. Add the remaining sauce and mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake until bubbly, about 1 hour, 20 minutes. Let the lasagna cool slightly before serving. Dig in.

Mangia Mangia!