Inside-Out Lasagna

This super easy weeknight meal from The Simple Art of EatingWell: 400 Easy Recipes, Tips and Techniques for Delicious, Healthy Meals (EatingWell) is very adaptable.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz whole wheat pasta (I doubled this recipe since the pasta packages I have are all 1 pound; it calls for rotini or fusilli but I used rigatoni).
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced (I used jarred minced garlic which is sort of nasty but I keep it on hand for occasions that I go to peel the garlic and it’s all dried out and the jarred is the less nasty of the two).
• 8 oz sliced white mushrooms (I substituted a handful of dried mushrooms and added to the pasta when it was boiling)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper (I admit I really didn’t measure the salt or pepper; a few cranks of the grinder and it’s all good)
• (1) 14 oz can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs (I used garlic and basil flavored; of course if you have your own tomatoes canned from last summer that’s even better. I got these cans from my mother-in-law who found them “too spicy.” Not sure if it’s a generational thing or a Midwest thing, but I find it funny that anything other than salt and pepper–maybe parsley–is considered too spicy.)
• 8 cups baby spinach (I didn’t have any but DID have some nice hearty leaf lettuce from last week’s vegetable box)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional, so I didn’t use. I figured the jarred garlic would provide enough flavor.)
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the onion and garlic over medium heat until they’re nice and soft; add the mushrooms (if using fresh), salt and pepper, and cook about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms start to release their liquid.
3. Add the tomatoes, spinach, and red pepper if using and turn the heat up to high; cook until the spinach is wilted.
4. Toss the sauce with the pasta and top each serving with a dollop of ricotta.

The Verdict: You may have noticed that there’s mozzarella in the photo and not ricotta. That’s because I cannot stand ricotta. I’m not sure why; the texture kind of grosses me out, always has. DH happily added it to his serving, though. The lettuce turned out fine, the mushrooms a bit more bland than I would have thought. I think boiling them with the pasta really drained their flavor. In the summer I could see adding more vegetables to the sauce, and I was reminded of how much I miss fresh tomatoes. Not from a can, not hydroponic, not shipped in from overseas. Summer, please come soon!

Nutrition info: 1/4 serving is about 364 calories, 9 g fat, 55 g carbs, 16 g protein, 7 g fiber.

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