Veggie and Sweet Potato Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 oz white or baby bella mushrooms, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• ½ teaspoon Herbs de Provence
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 24 oz jar of prepared tomato marinara sauce
• 2 cups of pureed sweet potato (from approx 2 sweet potatoes)
• 1 package (9 oz) no boil whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 2-3 tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method:

The key to this lasagna is to dice the vegetables finely; this creates a layer that mimics the texture and feel of the traditional meat layer, but this taste so much better! Serves 6.

1. To make the sweet potato puree, pierce the skin in several places with a knife. Either set the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with tin foil, bake at 350 degrees for an hour, or set them on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Peel the skin and discard. Mash insides with a fork. Set aside.

2. In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, red bell pepper, carrot, Herbs de Provence, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 8-10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Add ½ the jar of marinara sauce or about 1 ½ cups. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and remove from heat.

3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Divide the box of noodles into four even stacks. Assemble the lasagna by covering the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with half the remaining marinara sauce (about ¾ cup). Next, lay out one stack of noodles in a single layer. On top of the noodles, spread ½ the vegetable mixture evenly. Top with another single layer of noodles. Next, spread out the sweet potato evenly and top with another layer of noodles. Then, add the remaining vegetable mixture. Top with the remaining noodles and spread the remainder of the marinara sauce over top. Cover the lasagna with thinly sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over top and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

4. Cover with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees F for 50-55 minutes. Remove the tin foil half way through to ensure the top gets crisp and golden. Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 minutes before serving.

Helpful hints: I didn't have enough mushrooms so I cut up a zucchini very finely. I liked it in the dish.
~Months ago we bought this thing called a vidalia chop wizard at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It is awesome and has been one of the most used tools on this diet. There are two different sizes to chop. And what I love is that it can get the veggies really little. That's what I used for this lasagna.
~I used spaghetti sauce. I would suggest a low sodium one, because this seemed to have more salt in it than I would have liked.
~I have no idea what Herbs de Provence is, so I used italian seasoning in the same measurement.
~On top of each veggie layer I added fat free cheese.
~For the bread crumbs I just toasted 2 slices of whole wheat bread, broke them up in smaller pieces and then put them in the food processor and pulsed it until they looked like bread crumbs.

I really liked this recipe. I had a ton of left overs and for me that seems to be the key to stay on track better because it gives me several different meals after I've made it. I got this recipe from a website called mygreendiet.com. I saw her on the Studio 5 show last year and I got her book. The book I have has tons of recipes. The only thing is in some of her recipes she will use oil and more carbs. But I'm realizing I have to do what I like and sometimes I adjust it or just follow the exact directions. ENJOY!!