LIVE TO EAT

Artichoke Lasagna

This recipe is from the "New vegetarian cuisine" cookbook but I changed it up a bit to use what I had on hand! Enjoy

No bake or regular lasagna noodles (I used no bake as it was all I had)
2 Tbl Olive oil
1 medium onion (I used 2) diced
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 cup or so vegetable broth
1/4 cup fresh basil (I used Italian seasoning because it was what I had)
2 boxes 9 oz each frozen artichoke hearts (I used 1 can drained artichoke hearts, 1 shredded large carrot & 1 chopped red bell pepper)
1 box 10 oz frozen chopped spinach partially thawed (I used 1 bag frozen chopped)
1 cup chopped roasted sweet red pepper (I used 1 small jar roasted red pepper, threw it in my food prcessor and used it in my cream sauce)
1 ts butter or margarine
1 1/2 can evaporated skim milk (I used 2% and 1/2 C heavy cream because I had leftover cream in the fridge...figured I could go wrong with cream!)
1 1/2 Tbl grated parm (I try to always have fresh parm to grate)
1/8 ts grated nutmeg
3 Tbl seasoned breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 350
THIS IS WHAT I DID

If you're using regular lasagna noodles cook them as directed. Meanwhile in a large nonstick skillet heat oil. Add onions, garlic, chopped pepper & shredded carrot then throw in some salt (I prefer sea salt) Cook and stir often until tender. Add spinach, broth and Italian seasoning or basil if you have it and artichokes (I threw my artichokes in the food processor first...it's up to you...but mine was REEEEALLY good so I think you should!!! ;) Let it sit and simmer until most liquid has evaporated. It was a big pot of veggie yumness...I tasted it and added some salt and pepper to taste.
TIME FOR THE SAUCE
I have to mention that I didn't measure any of the sauce ingredients because I always like to have a bit more so I used more butter and flour and gauged how much milk by the thickness of the sauce as I went.
With that said here is how you make the roux:

Melt butter in saucepan, add flour and stir quickly to make a paste. Slowly add milk and bring to a bubble...careful not to over do it. Lower temp and add parm. At this time I added my extra cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and pureed roasted red pepper. I raised the heat just a bit to thicken it but took it right off the heat when it was done. Grab a casserole dish, spray Pam on it and assemble. Little sauce on the bottom, noodles, veg, sauce and sprinkle of bread crumbs ( I always make my own with leftover bread...tastes better) Repeat. On my top layer I sprinkled some bread crumbs and a generous amount of parm, covered it and cooked it in a preheated oven for just over an hour...but it was because I forgot about it! The directions say 45 minutes. It turned out terrific and I sprinkled a few red pepper flakes on mine when I ate it. YUM