Vegetarian Lasagna

When I had my son a few months ago my mother and father flew in from Idaho to help out for a week.  While they were here my mother made us a lot of casseroles to put in the freezer for after they left.  What a lifesaver.  This is the best gift to give brand new parents.  I am going to remember this for all my friends when they have babies. This lasagna is vegetarian but if you are a meat lover (like myself) you won't miss the meat.  In fact we loved this lasagna recipe so much that I am making it again today!  My mom found this recipe on about.com you can find it here if you want to print it off.  If you would like to copy it, here it is:

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 20 ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 (8-ounce) cans chunky tomato sauce
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 12 ounce carton ricotta OR crumbled drained tofu
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated provolone cheese (my mom and I used sliced provolone and it worked great)
• 12 ounces lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
• 24 ounce jar cheesy Alfredo Sauce
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Cook and drain chopped vegetables as directed on package, measure out 3 cups, set aside. Brown onion and garlic in olive oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in tomato sauce and paste, water, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper; simmer for 10 minutes.

In large bowl, mix the ricotta or tofu, eggs, parsley, mozzarella and provolone cheese.

For the freeze-oven method, line a 9x13" baking pan with heavy duty foil, long enough to fold over the casserole. Spray the foil with cooking spray. Place a layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan. Layer noodles, tomato sauce, vegetables, Alfredo sauce, ricotta mixture, and Parmesan cheese in that order, repeating to make three layers of each. Fold the foil over the lasagna and close with a double fold. Freeze until solid. Remove the foil wrapped casserole from the pan and seal it in a 2 gallon heavy duty ziplock bag. To bake, place the foil wrapped casserole in an oven dish, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then bake, covered at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 15-20 minutes longer until bubbling and heated through.

For the freezer-crockpot method, assemble the recipe in a foil-lined one gallon ice cream container. Wrap well and freeze. To cook, remove the foil from the frozen package, place it in a 5-quart crockpot and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Cook covered one hour on high, then turn to low for 6-8 hours (automatic setting on most crockpots). If it seems a little juicy, remove the lid and turn the heat to high for the last hour. Serves 8-10