Red and Green Lasagna

Lasagna is an Italian pasta dish made with alternate layers of pastas and cheese. Traditionally, lots of Ricotta and Mozzarella cheese is used in Lasagna, but we are not too fond of Ricotta cheese, so I always used to avoid making Lasagna. This time I decided to make it, thinking that using very less Ricotta cheese and adding other veggies would be able to provide us proper flavor. 

I am using two kinds of sauces here: Marinara Sauce and White Sauce with Spinach, that's why the name 'Red and Green Lasagna':).  I browsed through different recipes and here is my mixed-and-matched version of Lasagna.

 

Ingredients:

8-9 sheets of lasagna no-boil noodles

1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (I used store-bought. Here is the home-made recipe)

2 1/2 cups white sauce ( 2 tbsp wheat flour, 2 1/2 cups milk)

2 cups frozen chopped spinach (thawed)

1/2 onion (chopped)

1/2 yellow pepper (thinly sliced)

2 small eggplants (sliced)

1 tbsp sundried tomatoes

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 tsp chili flakes (optional)

2 tbsp ricotta cheese (I used fat-free)

2 tsp oil

cooking spray

mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper as needed ( I used fat-free cheese)

Method:

• Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add chopped onion and garlic paste. Once the onion gets cooked, add marinara sauce. Simmer it for a while. Add 1/2 tsp chili flakes. Set aside.
• To make white sauce, blend wheat flour and milk with a hand mixie. Heat on the stove at medium flame. Add salt, pepper and stir continuously. Remove from the heat when it's thick. ( I like to make this as healthy as possible. You can make the white sauce the usual way by using butter, all-purpose flour and milk.)
• In a pan, add 1 tsp oil and add chopped spinach. Let it cook for a while and add sundried tomatoes. Remove from the heat and add in the white sauce.
• Preheat the oven at 375 F. Put sliced eggplants and bell peppers on the aluminium-foil wrapped baking sheet. Coat with cooking spray and sprinkle salt and pepper. Put in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Take a conventional-oven safe bowl and put some spinach-white sauce on the bottom. Cover with lasagna noodles. Put half of marinara sauce on top and cover with eggplants and bell peppers.
• Now, spread ricotta cheese on these vegetables. The next layer again will be lasagna noodles. Cover the noodles with rest of the spinach-white sauce mixture. 
• Put the final layer of lasagna-noodles on the top. Pour rest of the marinara sauce on top and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese.  Sprinkle some chili flakes on top if desired and put in the oven for 55-60 minutes.

     

I would like to send this dish to Mansi's Vegetarian Thanksgiving Event.

Enjoy!!!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Hi everyone,

Whenever I make something new or special, I usually share the photos of the dishes with my friends and family members. Stuffed bell pepper is one of the dishes that has aroused most interest. Many people have asked me about its recipe and have enjoyed it. Obviously, it makes stuffed bell peppers a worthy candidate for a blog.

   

Whenever we invite guests to our place over lunch/dinner, I always ask my husband "What should I make?", usually he is out of clue (and  mentions dishes that do not suit with rest of the items). Finally, I have to give him some choices, but his lifeline to save himself out of the trouble has been "stuffed bell peppers". This dish can easily match with different types of cuisines. The ingredients are basically Italian, but it can match well with North Indian or continental cuisines. It is a great dish for potluck too. You can add cottage cheese and Indian spices in the filling for an Indian version of the stuffed bell peppers.

      

Ingredients:

4 large bell peppers

2 chopped green onions

1 chopped tomato

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup boiled spaghetti(you can use other kind of pastas)

1/2 cup cooked rice

1 tsp chili sauce

3/4 cup tomato ketchup

1 cup white sauce(1/2 tsp butter, 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, 1 cup milk, salt, pepper)

oil spray

salt, chili powder, cheese as needed

Method:

• Cut bell peppers in half and remove seeds and stems. Put them in a microwave-safe bowl, add some water and cover the lid. The bell peppers will be almost cooked in about 5-6 minutes. Keep aside.
• For the filling, mix rice, spaghetti, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, chili sauce, salt. 
• Add this mixture in the bell pepper halves. 
• To make white sauce, heat butter and roast all-purpose flour. Add milk and stir continuously till it becomes thick. Add salt and pepper. Remove from the stove and add tomato ketchup. 
• Preheat the oven at 375 F.
• Coat conventional oven-safe bowl with oil spray and then put stuffed bell peppers. Pour white sauce mixture over the peppers. Sprinkle grated cheese, some drops of butter, salt and chili powder and put in the oven for 15-20 minutes.     

  

Enjoy!!!