Red Gold Lasagna Party

One of the fun things about writing Felt Like a Foodie is that I get offers to try things.  I read most offers but honestly don’t feel comfortable promoting products that I don’t already use.  (Okay but I will totally cave in if it is something like a vacation to a place with cool food!  My morals do have some gray areas…I’m not in denial.)

So the other week I was asked by Red Gold to be part of their “Lasagna Party” and celebrate the versatility of this classic dish.  The challenge was to take their base recipe for Lasagna and elevate it to a gourmet level by adding some of my own favorite ingredients.

To sweeten the pot, Red Gold has started a Lasagna Party Sweepstakes on Facebook that will run from January 15, 2014 to February 5, 2014.  (Check out their FB page or website for all the rules.)  You could have the chance to win either one of 3,000 Red Gold Aprons OR 3 $250 Red Gold Lasagna Kits that include an apron, spatula, a Garfield toy, a Le Creuset lasagna pan and a $25 gift card.  (I would love for one of my readers to win this package!)

The timing of this challenge was great for me. Our weather has been dreary and cold.  Lasagna is one of those dinners that seems to warm your belly and soul but I will admit that I don’t change up my recipe very often.  My stand-by recipe is pretty laborious and rich.  My goal today was to come up with an easier, tasty and light lasagna.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients

1 (28 ounce) can of Red Gold Crushed tomatoes

1 (14.5 ounce) can of Red Gold Diced Tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp of Italian seasoning

1 (15 ounce) ricotta cheese

2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 cup finely chopped spinach

½ cup Parmesan cheese

2-3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 pound of ground veal, browned.

4 cups of chopped vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, onion, fennel)

1 package of lasagna noodles (cooked per package direction) *I always cook my pasta for my lasagnas.

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven 400

Prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.  In a small bowl, add the 4 cups of chopped vegetables and about 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil.  You want them to be lightly cooked but not necessarily shiny with oil.  Roast for about 30 minutes, tossing once or twice.

While veggies are cooking, brown your veal and cook your pasta noodles.

In addition, in one small bowl, mix Red Gold Tomatoes, tomato paste and Italain Seasoning.

In another small bowl, mix ricotta cheese, spinach, parsley and Parmesan.

Reduce heat on the oven to 350 degrees when veggies are done!

Got everything ready?  Time to put it all together.

On the bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2 baking pan, schemer with a large ladle full of sauce.  You don’t want puddles but you do want it coated.

Next arrange noodles so they slightly overlap to cover the bottom.  (I used 3 ½ noodles per layer.)

On top of this layer, sprinkle little clumps of the ricotta cheese (use only 1/3), roasted vegetable (use about ½) and approximately ¾ cup of mozzarella cheese.  (I sprinkle it so it doesn’t fully cover the other ingredients.)

Put on another layer of noodles and a hefty ladle of sauce.  Once again, have the sauce cover the noodles but not necessarily pool up on the noodles.

Repeat the step with the cheeses.  On top of this layer, sprinkle little clumps of the ricotta cheese (use only 1/3), roasted vegetable (use about ½) and approximately ¾ cup of mozzarella cheese.  (I sprinkle it so it doesn’t fully cover the other ingredients.)

Put another layer of noodles on top and more sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining ricotta cheese mixture and more mozzarella.  (Any extra cheese or sauce can be used on omelets in the morning!)

Cover with non-stick foil and bake for an hour.  At the hour point, remove foil and cook for another 30 minutes uncovered.

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

My lasagna turned out GREAT!!!!!  I really enjoyed the roasted vegetables texture and taste.  (And the leftovers were really good too!

For lasagna newbies, remember that vegetables hold a lot of extra liquid, which is released when cooking.  (This is one of the reasons I roasted mine first.)

Have fun creating your new lasagna!  I hope if any of you win, you will let me know.