Mmm, Lasagna :)

One of the things I miss most about my life before Celiacs, is pasta. I looove pasta. So when my husband decided he wanted to make lasgana, I thought to myself, "so, I'll just have some frozen chili or something. Again". "You can eat that can't you?", he asked. "Umm, NO!". "Well, can I make it so that you can?" Hmmmm.

I knew gluten-free pasta was available, but had yet to hear anything nice about it. Everything I read said it was mushy and unpleasant. I did some research (which I kinda love to do) and every recipe was recommending the same thing: Tinkyada Brown Rice lasagna noodles. I called a few grocery stores, and finally managed to locate a box, suprisingly (but conveniently) at the smaller grocery store a few blocks away.

We made it up, exactly the same way we would have before. I put it in the oven, set the timer for an hour, told my hubby to check on it and let it rest for 10 minutes before eating, and headed of to yoga.

Thoughts of delicious lasagna danced in my hungry belly during savasana, mingled with worries of mushy, flavourless noodles. I rushed home after class, promptly cut a piece, dug in, and...

...perfection!

the delicious finished product

Recipe: 

Sauce:

2 lbs ground meat (beef, turkey, pork, sausage...you choose)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, sweet, diced

8 mushrooms, button or crimini, sliced

2 jars tomato sauce, good quality or homemade

1 tsp. thyme, dried

1 tsp. oregano, dried

1 big splash red wine vinegar

salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cheese Mixture:

3 c. baby spinach, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. olive oil

750 ml cottage cheese (I prefer 2%, but use what you like)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. each salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 box Tinkyada Brown Rice Lasagna Noodles, uncooked (or your favourite brand, if you have one)

2 c. mozarella, shredded

1/4 c. parmesan, shredded

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a 9x13x6" rectangular baking dish, preferably with olive oil. Set aside.

In large saucepan, heat olive oil, then sautée meat until cooked through. Add onions and mushrooms, continuing to cook until translucent. Pour in tomato sauce, herbs, vinegar, and salt & pepper. Heat until bubbling, and continue to simmer 10 minutes to allow flavours to combine. Set aside.

In a sautée pan, heat olive oil, then add garlic and chopped spinach. Sautée until the spinach is just wilted and bright green. Combine spinach mixture in a medium mixing bowl with all other cheese filling ingredients. Set aside.

Ladle roughly 2 c. of sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Then lay down 4 UNCOOKED noodles, to fit. Top with 3 more cups of sauce, then 4 more noodles. Spread with cheese mixture, the last 4 noodles and the remaining sauce. Top with the shredded cheese and bake for 50-60 minutes. When the lasagna is brown and bubbly, pull it from the oven and allow it to rest 10-15 minutes. Slice the lasagna into pieces and serve it with your favourite green or caesar salad. Enjoy :)

makes 12-16 servings