Spinach Lasagna

Love eating Lasagna but dread the boiling of the noodles.  You can skip this step by using No Boiling noodles which are now available in most Grocery stores.  I particularly like the Trader Joe's Italian No Boiling -Oven Ready noodles.  For this recipe you will use almost all the box.  I ended up with four layers of noodles.  You can actually have 5 layers of the lasagna noodles if you put less spinach and ricotta filling on each layer.

In a frying pan cook together in a small amount of oil (Canola, Vegetable, Olive or Grapeseed oil) 1 cup of onions and the chopped mushrooms.

For this recipe I used a large container of Part Kim Ricotta Cheese and two 10 oz packages of frozen chopped spinach.  Ragu sauce is not only economical but delicious and available in an array different flavors.  I used the Chunky sundried tomato and sweet basil and loved it.  You will need two of the 10 oz large jars.  Mix the drained spinach, 1 tablespoon dried basil or dried oregano,  the entire  container of

Ricotta cheese and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese in a large bowl.

As you can see the noodles are layered uncooked.  You can prepare this Lasagna 24 hours ahead of time. Sweet!  My large baking dish had room for 6 noodle pieces overlapped.

Use a measuring cup to add the sauce.  You can actually add less than the cup of sauce per layer.  Just make sure to spread the amount of sauce evenly on each layer.

 You will be able to put a generous amount of the spinach filling on each layer.  Drop using a tablespoon and distribute.

Serve your lasagna with a tossed green salad and garlic bread.

The entire detailed recipe can be seen and downloaded here:

http://www.scribd.com/full/51659233?access_key=key-uxwpp1finx096vdodrc

Cooking Shirataki Noodles

I finally had the opportunity to cook Shirataki Noodles, an alternative to regular pasta.  My local Harris Teeter store only  carries this small 8 oz bags.  I have seen the white and the green noodles.  A co-worker had shared with me she liked the green ones better because the noodles did not smell as strong.  I just kept wondering what sort of smell she was talking about.  Then I found out. These noodles are packed in liquid and the best way I can describe the smell is -- FISHY.  So make sure you rinse real well by placing them on a colander.

Bring water to a boil, then add the noodles and cook according to the package directions.  I think they just have to boil for about 2 minutes.  The noodles are somewhat chewy.

I had on hand Sun Dried tomatoes in oil which are good in anything you cook.  Chop at least 1 cup of the tomatoes and add some of the oil.  Take two cloves of garlic and mince or chop finely.  That is all you need.  I guarantee you will not smell the original fishy smell.

Cook the sun dried tomatoes and the garlic together for a few seconds.  Add the drained Shirataki noodles and combine well.

Season with salt, pepper and add Parmesan Cheese.

Shirataki noodles are an alternative to cooking regular spaghetti noodles.  They claim  to be guilt free so really just good if you are trying to eat less carbohydrates that cause weight gain.  Next time I will try the green Shirataki noodles.  I bet they would be delicious with some fresh spinach and garlic.

This small bag will yield two small servings.