A Whole New Lasagna

Here’s a great little recipe I came up with to get my kids to eat more vegetables, although it’s far from a “kiddie meal”. I call it “almost vegetarian”, but not around the kids :slight_smile: It’s filling, but much lighter than traditional lasagna, and also takes much less time to prepare.

1 9 oz box Barilla flat lasagna noodles (these are thinner than regular noodles, and work much better for this recipe)
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces
6 ears sweet corn, kernels cut from the cobs
4 TBS butter, divided
cooking spray
1 12 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained, and julienned
3 small yellow onions, peeled, halved, and sliced
1 lb Boar’s Head Black Forest Ham
1/2 lb Boar’s Head Aged White Cheddar cheese
1/2 lb Boar’s Head American cheese
1 16 oz jar Ragu Double Cheddar cheese sauce
1 16 oz jar Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo sauce
1 8 oz container Kraft French Onion dip

In a saucepan over low heat, place the Double cheddar, Garlic Alfredo, and french onion dip and stir to incorporate. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and promote thorough heating.

Meanwhile in a large saucepan heat enough water to fill the pan halfway to boiling. When the water starts to boil, add the asparagus. Cook for about 12 minutes, until very tender. Drain and reserve. In the same pan add 2 tablespoons of butter and reduce (or increase depending on your stove) heat to medium high. Add the cut corn and cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to develop a light golden hue. Remove from pan and reserve. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and add the sliced onions. Cook until softened and well colored, but not carmelized. Remove onions and reserve.

Cut the ham into julienne strips and add to the pan. Cook, tossing frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the ham starts to gain some color and becomes aromatic. Remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray the bottom of a 13" x 9" baking dish with the cooking spray. Place 4 lasagna sheets (uncooked) in the dish. (With stability and cutability in mind, I layer my sheets as follows: the bottom 4 are placed widthwise in the dish, with all the sheets overlapping a bit. The next sheets are placed lengthwise, with the sheets overlapping in the middle. Alternate every other layer. This keeps the lasagna from falling appart when you cut it.) Divide the american and cheddar cheese into four equal portions, and place 1/4 of the cheese on the pasta sheets. Top this with 1/3 of the cooked corn, 1/3 of the julienned red pepper, 1/3 of the apsaragus, 1/3 of the onion, and 1/3 of the ham. Cover all with a thin layer of cheese sauce. Repeat the above steps, pressing down slightly on each additonal layer of pasta sheets to help distribute the filling. You should end up with three layers of filling, and exactly 4 sheets of pasta to place on top of it all. Cover the top sheets of pasta with the remaining cheese sauce, and the remaining 1/4 of american and cheddar cheeses. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 50 minutes. After 50 minutes, remove foil, raise temperature to 375 degrees, and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese on top starts to brown slightly. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting. You can easily substitute or add vegetables to your liking. This is also equally good using turkey in place of the ham. I serve it with a small slalad on the side. Enjoy!