Meat and Veggie Lasagna

I love everything about lasagna from the layers of noodles to the cheesy-tomatoey goodness in between. This is simple yet healthy and delicious...and with ricatta cheese, which I don't really like. You can eat it with chunks of vegetable, or blend them in the sauce to hide them from the kids. I won't tell. Serves 8.

Meat and Veggie Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles
1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 small onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic
1 zucchini, chopped
1 zucchini squash, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, shredded (optional)
garlic salt, to taste
1 jar pasta sauce
1/2 c (or more) Parmesan cheese, divided
Shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil on counter big enough to cover a 9x13 pan, about 1 1/2 feet. Spray with cooking spray.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions. When cooked al dente (soft yet firm at the core), lay flat on aluminum foil to cool, overlapping or criss-crossing where necessary.

CHUNKY VEGETABLE VERSION:
3. Cook meat and onions in extra large skillet over medium to medium-high heat until meat is browned. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add zucchini, yellow zucchini squash, mushrooms and carrots, if using. Sprinkle garlic salt on top of vegetables and stir, tasting and adding garlic salt until they taste good to you. This flavor will carry over in the end. Stir and cook until zucchini starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce. Add about a cup of warm water to the jar, replace the lid and shake to remove the rest of the sauce from the sides and add to skillet. Let sauce simmer 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally

VEGETABLES-IN-SAUCE VERSION:
3. Cook meat and onions in extra large skillet over medium to medium-high heat until meat is browned. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add zucchini, yellow zucchini squash, mushrooms and carrots, if using. Sprinkle garlic salt on top of vegetables and stir, tasting and adding garlic salt until they taste good to you. This flavor will carry over in the end.  Stir and cook until zucchini starts to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pasta sauce. Add about a cup of cold water to the jar, replace the lid and shake to remove the rest of the sauce from the sides and add to skillet. Add contents of skillet to food processor or blender. Blend until as chunky as desired.

4. Add a little sauce to a 9x13 pan, just enough to coat bottom. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over sauce, at least 1/4 c. Layer 4 noodles, overlapping a little. Add 1/3 of remaining sauce and spread evenly over noodles. Sprinkle a handful of mozzarella cheese. Repeat noodles, sauce, cheese. Lay the last 4 noodles, the last of the sauce, and other handful or 2 of cheese. Then sprinkle remaining 1/4 c Parmesan cheese on top.
5. Use aluminum foil the noodles were on to cover 9x13 dish; bake covered in preheated oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes more, or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is completely melted.

CAN DO AHEAD: You can assemble the lasagna ahead of time (steps 1-4) and cover with aluminum foil; place in refrigerator. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, covered, 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and cheese is completely melted.