spianch, ham and butternut lasagna

this was heavenly and a perfect comfort food. somehow we are always in abundance of goat cheese and i am always and forever adding to everything we eat these days. the ham was leftover from sunday...a great little quarter ham i picked up at trader joes before thanksgiving and froze. the ham really went well with the sweetness of the squash and the tang of the goat cheese. i also always use the no boil noodles...the last thing i have time for these days is pre boiling noodles and dirtying another pan...just another step to step!

(stay tuned for homemade cranberry vodka! best homemade x-mas present for the lush in your life!)

enjoy!




3 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup unbleached ap flour
pinch of nutmeg
3 tbl unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, minced
salt and pepper
6-8 cups peeled and small diced butternut squash
1 tbl balsamic vinegar
1 tbl chopped fresh rosemary
4 garlci cloves, minced
2 cups diced ham
pinch of red pepper
1 bag organic frozen chopped spinach
1 pkg organic whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 cup or 1 log of goat cheese
1 cup parm/regg cheese, grated

toss butternut squash with salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and rosemary. roast at 425 for 30 min. remove and set aside. turn oven to 350F.

heat milk until almost boiling. remove and keep warm.

saute onion in butter until soft over med heat. whisk in flour and cook 5 min until a little cooked and lightly golden. add a few tbls of milk to flour mixture and whisk constantly. slowly add milk until gone and add in nutmeg, red pepper and salt and pepper. whisk until thickened and combined. set aside.

saute garlic and ham in olive oil. add spinach and salt and pepper. cook until spinach is warmed and soft.

ladle a little of milk mixture in bottom of baking dish. layer noodles, them butternut squash, spiinach/ham mixture. crumble some goat cheese and parm on top and finally ladle more milk mixture on top. repeat with noodles, squash, etc. when done sprinkle with a final layer of parm and bake 30-40 until done.

vegetarian lasagna with butternut squash marinara

i don't have a photo of this one. we had friends over and it was devoured! thats the rewarding part of having people outside the fam eating over...watching them have seconds and loving it!
i had a couple cups of leftover butternut squash puree. i usually add pumpkin to my tomato sauce but needed to use this up. it was a really sweet and hearty addition to the marinara sauce. i also made a bechamel to thicken things up a bit. it was tasty and full of veggies and cheese! hopefully i can salvage a slice today to post a pic of it.

enjoy!

3 cup butternut squash puree
3 cup marinara sauce (i had homemade frozen in the freezer)
3 tbl unsalted butter
3 tbl unbleached ap flour
1 1/2 cups milk
pinch of nutmeg
1 yellow onion, minced
3 glc clvs, minced
2 bunches organic spinach, cleaned well and torn
4 lg zucchinis, cleaned and sliced
1 container fresh ricotta
1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper
pinch of nutmeg
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 pkg, whole wheat flat lasagna noodles, (i use the no boil kind)

combine butternut puree and marinara in a bowl. season if needed and set aside for a bit.

saute onion and garlic and add spinach and zucchini. saute until cooked and spinach is wilted. season. set aside.

melt butter over med low heat. add in flour and cook a minute. heat up milk and then slowly whisk in to flour mixture. heat a bit until thick. add in nutmeg and salt and pepper. turn off heat and set aside.

combine riccota, egg, parmesan, nutmeg and salt and pepper in a bowl.

spread a cup or so of butternut tomato sauce over bottom of casserole dish. add layer of noodles. spread veggies over noodles. drop riccota on top and ladle some more butternut marinara sauce over. layer more noodles. then veggies, then riccota, then bechamel/cream sauce, then mozzarella. repeat the layering with noodles, veggies, ricotta, sauce and mozzarella until done. sprinkle with remaining cheese and cook at 400F for 40 min.