F.o.F: Lasagna for my Lover

One of my husband's favorite things about being married is the fact that he gets to have homecooked meals with his wife (aww, so sweet I know). This is one part of being married that I also thoroughly enjoy. Now because I have multiple food allergies that Chance doesn't, sometimes I end up making 2 different meals for us. The meal that I make for him is usually something that he can take as leftovers, and eat for the next few days. This past week he mentioned how he missed lasagna. I have issues with lasagna - wheat pasta noodles & heavy ricotta cheese do NOT make for a happy wife-y if you catch my drift. So I found a recipe online and modified it with what I had on hand - it is vegetable lasagna that my husband described as "SO good, and so.. light!". I never thought the word "light" would be used to describe lasagna, but with all these veggies it's no wonder he enjoyed it so much :)
I hope that you can make it for someone you love, too.

recipe taken from myrecipes.com - Cooking Light magazine 2001
 Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
• 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 3-4 carrots, diced in the food processor 
• 1 chopped red (or green) bell pepper
• 1/2 cup  white or sweet onion
• 1 (26-ounce) bottle fat-free tomato basil pasta sauce
• 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto
• 1 (15-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
• Cooking spray
• 6 ready to bake lasagna noodles (I used Barilla) 
• 3/4 cup (3 ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and the next 4 ingredients (mushrooms through onion); cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add pasta sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Combine pesto and ricotta in a small bowl. Spread 1/2 cup tomato mixture in the bottom of a 8-inch square baking dish or pan coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 noodle halves over tomato mixture. Top noodles with half of ricotta mixture and 1 cup tomato mixture. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining tomato mixture over noodles; sprinkle with mozzarella.
4. Cover and bake at 375º for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.
5. Notes: To make ahead, assemble as directed; stop before baking. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature; bake as directed. For easy cleanup, assemble in a disposable 8-inch aluminum-foil pan. If you're making for a gift, deliver uncooked with baking instructions.

For gluten-free/dairy-free people:

I made my own dish that consisted of all the sauteed veggies mixed with about a tablespoon of the sun-dried tomato pesto and 3/4 cup rice penne pasta! I through some dairy-free rice mozzarella cheese on top and had my own yummy "Italian" inspired dish that perfectly accommodated all of my allergies!

(note: the photo above I took off of the myrecipes.com website for this recipe!)