A Springtime Lasagna Just For You

I’m not going to lie when I say that when I surf the web, it’s usually looking at delicious food on some amazing foodie blogs. One of my favs is How Sweet it is. A lot of her recipes are not your “normal” recipe and I love that. She has definitely inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and try new foods, which I love to do but my husband, not so much. Oh he says that he’ll eat anything I cook but when he asked what was for dinner the other day and I came back with, Springtime veggie skillet lasagna, he was skeptical. I could hear it in his voice while on the phone. I’m pretty sure when he repeated the name, he was looking right at his work buddy like, “Um..seriously….that’s whats for dinner.”

But guys….this lasagna…so so good. So so so so so good. Little Miss ate two helpings. I barely had leftovers for Mr. Chaos’s lunch the next day and I really wish he would have hated it so I could have eaten said leftovers but um…he didn’t hate it. Not even a little bit. This is one that will definitely be made again, although probably with some chicken thrown in because my husband doesn’t do many non meat dinners. Me on the other hand, bring on the veggies!

Not my photo…photo courtesy of www.howsweeteats.com

So yummy guys. And perfect for warmer weather! PERFECT!

Springtime Veggie Skillet Lasagna from: How Sweet It is

Ingredients

6-8 Lasagna noodles-I used around 9 and I probably would’ve cut it back down to 7 or so
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
12 ounces cremini mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 ounces fresh spinach
1 bunch of asparagus spears (12-15), ends removed and cut into thirds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg-I didn’t add nutmeg because my husband hates it and the recipe was still absolutely delicious
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 cups lowfat milk-I only had 2%
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1/2 cup ricotta-Substituted cottage cheese because again, Mr. Chaos doesn’t like ricotta. *gasp* I know…he says he’s not a picky eater but c’mon Mr. Chaos! Ricotta cheese…ugh!
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, freshly grated-Yes, use fresh..not the bar stuff…the fresh stuff

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare water for pasta and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add pasta and cooking according to directions, shaving a few minutes off the time.

Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add in onions and mushrooms, tossing to coat, then cover and cook for 10 minutes until softened. Add in garlic and spinach, stirring well and cook until the spinach wilts and cooks down. Add in asparagus, tossing well. Season with salt and pepper- At this point I removed the skillet from the heat while I made the sauce. Don’t worry about the asparagus..it cooks up nicely in the oven.

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add butter. Once sizzling, whisk in flour to create a roux and cook until golden brown and nutty, about 1-2 minutes. Add in milk and whisk continuously until the mixture is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in parmesan cheese. Season with a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper. Once the cheese is melted and the sauce is slightly thickened, pour over the vegetables in the skillet and turn off the heat. Add in the cooked lasagna noodles and gently toss to distribute. Cover with scoops of ricotta and the grated cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly. Remove and serve with extra parmesan!

Go forth and make this on a beautiful sunny day and make sure you serve with some warm crusty bread because lasagna without bread….unheard of my friends…unheard of!