Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Spinach Lasagna

Thank you everyone for your amazing comments in my last post! It's a special experience to be showered with enthusiasm for such a big change in our lives. My husband and I are very excited (and nervous) about becoming parents. There's so much that we are looking forward to.

Lately I've been finding myself crazed by hunger. It's a strange feeling because I've always been very good about waiting until the next meal to eat. All of the sudden I find myself ravaging the refrigerator for leftovers, and checking every corner of the pantry for that last bar of chocolate. It's maddening!

These days I'm planning big dinners so that I have plenty of leftovers to get me through the day. One of the recipes that has made for very good leftovers is an easy to prepare roll-up lasagna that I found on The Food Addicts' blog.

This lasagna offers sweet smoky flavors from the roasted red bell peppers, contrasted with the hearty and comforting textures of cheese, spinach and pasta. If you have some extra time it's well worth it to roast your own red bell peppers from scratch, the sweet flavor and texture is so much more superior, you'll never go back to the jarred variety. Also, sweet bell peppers and spinach are listed among the Dirty Dozen, which are the 12 fruits and vegetables that retain the highest levels of pesticide residue, so it might be worth it to seek organic if you can.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Spinach Lasagna
From The Food Addicts
Ingredients

• 4 lasagna noodles
• ½ cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella, shredded
• 1 cup spinach (preferably frozen, chopped and thawed)
• 1 cup roasted red bell peppers, freshly roasted or from a jar
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, sliced thinly (optional)

Method

1. Boil lasagna noodles until al dente, drain and lay flat to cool on a cutting board or cookie sheet.
2. Take a heaping tablespoon of ricotta cheese and spread evenly across lasagna noodles.
3. Layer about 3 tablespoons of spinach and roasted red peppers onto the noodles. Sprinkle each noodle with about a tablespoon and a half of mozzarella and spoon a thin layer of marinara sauce onto the cheese.
4. Start from the end and carefully roll lasagna. Place in a baking dish and cover with remaining marinara and mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F until cheese is golden and bubbling.
6. Top with fresh basil, if using, and serve.

Serves 4.