Four Serving White Veggie Lasagna

Sometimes I feel like regular lasagna gets done to death!  We've all had it...layers of red sauce, veggies, and noodles...now don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good lasagna just as much as the next person...but I also love to shake things up a bit!  This is a fun take on your average lasagna, but instead of using a red sauce, you use a creamy alfredo!  And instead of making a huge pan of it...this recipe was developed to accommodate four regular-sized appetites, or three man-sized appetites!

-Make the "Creamy Alfredo": (If you have some already made, you'll need about 2 cups...if you're making this for the first time, you can freeze the remains, or check out some of my other recipes that use it!)

Over medium heat, slowly heat up:

4 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 T. garlic powder

-If you heat the garlic up too quickly, it will burn and turn bitter, so do it slowly, for like 5 minutes to incorporate flavors.

-Add:

1 qt of MimicCreme (The only place I've seen this is at health food stores...it's a soy-free, dairy-free cream substitute made from almonds and cashews...it can be used as a cream substitute wherever cream is needed.)

-Slowly bring to a boil over medium heat.  While that's heating up, mix together:

6 t. corn starch
6 t. warm water

-When the cream mixture starts to bubble, slowly whisk in the corn starch mixture and lower heat once it starts to thicken.  (lower to low...just to clarify!)

-Squeeze the juice from 1 lemon into the cream mixture (if I had to guess, I'd say 2-3 tablespoons)...whisk in.

-Add:

2 t. sea salt
plenty of fresh pepper
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
1 t. nutritional yeast

-Note:  from the lemon juice to all of the spices, these can all be added to accommodate your taste...however, let it simmer for a while to let all of the flavors blend together.  I actually let my sauce heat on low for about 20 minutes before I tasted it.

-Another note:  if you feel like your sauce is too thick, add a splash of unsweetened almond milk, or even a little dry white wine.

-Boil 4 lasagna noodles...I used the Tinkyada brand, and boiled them according to the packaged directions for baking them later.  Rinse and set aside when done.


-Make the "Ricotta Cheese" filling:


1 package of silken tofu, gently squeezed dry in a paper towel
1 T. dried basil
1 T. dried oregano
1 T. nutritional yeast (really high in B vitamins and minerals, this gives things a "cheese" flavor...You'll more than likely have to go to a health food store for this, but it's so worth it and I use it a lot in my recipes)
1 T. garlic powder
1 t.sea salt

-Thaw 4 cups of frozen veggies, drain and chop.  (I ended up with about 2 1/2 c. of chopped veggies)  Set aside. 

-Thinly slice 1 small zucchini into rounds


-Make the "Parmesan Cheese":

1 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs (yes, you should use the panko, because their texture holds up the best)
3 T. nutritional yeast
1 T. garlic powder
1 t. sea salt
3 T. extra virgin olive oil

Assemble:

-Put 1/4 c. Creamy Alfredo in the bottom of a bread pan (a pan that you would use to bake bread in...just to clarify!)
-Trim 2 noodles to fit, overlapping, on top of the sauce (I actually just threw the trimmings right on top of those too)
-Spread 1/2 of the "Ricotta Cheese" mixture on the noodles
-Place 1/2 sliced zucchini on top, overlapping just a little bit
-Put 1/2 of the chopped veggie over the zucchini, and press down, to pack everything together
-Drizzle 3/4 c. of the Cream Alfredo over top of the veggies
-Repeat steps

-Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, covered with aluminum foil

-Remove from heat, cover with "Parmesan Cheese" (if you have some left over, you can refrigerate it a really long time, so just save it for another recipe!  Or, my daughter loves to sprinkle it on her spaghetti...she calls it her "special cheese".)

-Broil on low for about 1 minute or until the top has browned

-That's it!  Serve piping hot and enjoy!

-Note:  if you wanted to make this in a 9x13 pan, go ahead and double everything, and that should work!