Vegetarian Lasagna Casserole

This dish was wonderful, probably one of my favorite own-creation recipes! Will's comment was, "This is restaurant-quality. I would order this again when I came back to the restaurant." Will loves my cooking, but this was higher than normal praise! Enough humble commentary, on to the recipe:

I love watching cooking shows, so that I can drool and wish I had more culinary skills and learn as much as I can from them. Yesterday I watched Rachael Ray's show, her Best Recipes of 2011. There were two different lasagna or lasagna-type recipes. This recipe is those two combined with some tweaks of my own. Definitely try it!

- 1/2 box of favorite pasta, cooked about 1-2 minutes less than package directions

- 2 portabella mushroom caps, diced
- about 1/3 - 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed
- 1/2 jar of favorite marinara sauce (we are currently in love with Harris Teeter's arrabiata sauce; it's quite spicy and rich in flavor); your favorite homemade [spicy] marinara would also be yummy here
- few splashes of broth (I used beef broth) for thinning

for Bechamel Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 rounded tbsp flour
- 1 cup milk
- salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg

- 1/2 to 2/3 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta.

At the same time, saute the diced portabella mushroom until tender. Add the thawed spinach to the pan. Stir until well mixed.

Add the spicy (or favorite) marinara sauce. Add a few splashes of broth to thin (if needed). Allow to simmer.

In a separate pan, make the bechamel sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, then the milk, and let thicken enough to coat a spoon. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.


Toss the pasta with the mushroom sauce and then arrange in a (9x9) casserole dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the top in an even layer. Top with parmesan cheese. Broil in the oven to brown the top.

Enjoy!This would be an easy one to double for a 9x13 or to freeze half and eat half. You could really play with the flavor by choosing any sauce. I really liked the bechamel combined with a spicy marinara, because it made it into a creamy spicy marinara. So yummy! This would make a good side dish. Or, a good vegeterian night with some roasted broccoli on the side or a salad starter.