Christmas Lasagna

Happy Holidays! I hope everyone had a restful and merry holiday season full of good memories and yummy food. I taught until 2:45 on the 23rd....blah! I raced home, realized I lost my phone, called it, and it was on my speakers in my classroom. I had to race back to my school in rush hour to get my phone. John and I feverishly packed, grabbed some Pita Pit and headed to Indianapolis with our suitcases, mountains of presents, and Handel and Max in their carriers. We waited to leave Chicago until 7:15 in hopes of missing all traffic. My genius idea worked! We made it out of Chicago in 25 minutes, crossed over to Indiana in 35 and made it back to Indianapolis in just over 3 hours with one stop in West Lafayette.

On Christmas Eve, my family (mom, brother, sister-in-law, and John) headed to Greenwood, IN to celebrate with my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandparents. My dad couldn't make it due to being sick. I didn't make any special food for this event due to time restraints. I made little hummus wraps with green pepper and tomato. We left around 4 and headed back to Fishers. I made my pesto pasta dinner. This recipe was a huge hit! My dad even at it, and he was pretty sick with a sinus infection!

The lasagna recipe looks long and complicated, but it is really quite simple. Listed below is the exact order I prepped the meal and assembled it.

Tofu Ricotta 

2 containers of extra firm tofu drained and patted dry

6 cloves of minced garlic

1 tablespoon salt

Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Basil to taste

Enough olive oil to hold the mixture together ( I just eyeball this measurement)

*You can add nutritional yeast for a nutty flavor (my parents unfortunately didn't have any nutritional yeast)

Process:

Put dry tofu in a bowl and crumble

Add all ingredients except olive oil and mix together

Use a fork to stir and mix tofu as you are adding the olive oil

Set aside to use in the assembly of the lasagna 

Pasta

Bring water in a large pot to a boil

Add 1 box of whole wheat lasagna

Cook for the time listed on the box (mine was 10 minutes)

*Don't overcook the pasta because it will break easier when you are assembling the lasagna

Filling

*Prepare the filling while the pasta is boiling

In a large bowl combine 4 cups fresh spinach with 2 cups arugula (you could use basil as well or all spinach)

Thinly slice 6 Roma Tomatoes

Open 2 cans of tomato sauce (I used herb and garlic sauce)

Assembly

Strain the lasagna noodles and rinse with cold water

Pour a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a glass baking pan

Add a layer of noodles

Add a layer of spinach

Add tomatoes on top

Crumble ricotta over

Pour sauce over the entire layer

Add a layer of noodles

Add a layer of spinach

Add tomatoes on top

Crumble ricotta over

Pour sauce over

*You get the pattern*

On the top layer I pour the sauce over the noodles, add the remaining tomatoes and the rest of the ricotta

Baking

Bake at 350 for about a 1 1/2

I took this recipe to John's family get-together. No one besides John and I ate it. I had so many leftovers! My parents REALLY liked it! Often times lasagna can be too filling or loaded with cheese. This is a very light and flavorful lasagna that is healthy! I love this recipe and it is surprisingly fast and easy to put together! Make sure you add plenty of sauce so the lasagna does not become too dry.

Happy Cooking!