A Homemade Vegetable Lasagna

I made this lasagna for the first time a few weeks back. At first, I considered making a smaller portion with an 8 by 8 baking dish, but then I figured I’d just use the larger baking dish so that we could have left overs for the entire week. It’s better to go all out, right?! And who am I kidding… we ended eating the entire veggie lasagna after two nights because it was so stinkin’ good.  And after we practically licked the pan clean, Dave suggested I make it again. (Lasagna is his favorite, so I knew this was a good one when I got that request.) A few days later, I did. I made another veggie lasagna and it was just as good as the first one. Here’s the recipe:

• 2 zucchinis
• 2 yellow squash
• 1 large eggplant
• 1 clove garlic
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups of spinach
• 7 to 10 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese
• 8 ounces goat cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 table spoon dried oregano
• 1 table spoon dried basil
• 4 1/2 cups of marinara sauce
• Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant into thin slices. Lay them on a baking pan and cover them with olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Roast them for about 25 minutes. Remove them from the oven to cool. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl combine the ricotta cheese, eggs and the spinach. Use a hand blender to mix until the spinach is completely blended in. Add in the parmesan cheese and mix well.
3. In a large pot bring water to a boil and place the noodles in the pot. Turn off the heat and let the noodles soak for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally so that the noodles don’t stick together. Once al dente drain the noodles and set aside.
4. Spread about 1 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the 9×13 baking dish. Place the veggies on top in any order. Drop spoonfuls of the ricotta spinach mixture on top of the veggies. Also drop in generous pieces of mozzarella. Then add a layer of noodles on top. Repeat this step two times over, starting with the marinara sauce. Sprinkle some oregano and basil on the top for additional flavor.
5. Bake for about an hour.Remove the lasagna once it looks browned, let it sit to cool off. Enjoy.  Also, one thing I highly recommend is to put a baking sheet under the baking dish in case any sauce or cheese spills out. It helps save you from extra clean up time! ;)