Monday Night Dinner

Cardio Dance tonight, what to make for dinner? Hmm...."Spinach and Mushroom Veggie Lasagna"that sounds good.
Several months ago there was a show on "Lifetime" called "Cook Yourself Thin", it was a diet show, it featured various woman who wanted to lose 10 lbs (sound familiar?) in a certain amount of time.
The 3 chefs would help the person turn their favorite high calorie, high fat meals into leaner versions. They put out a cookbook, which I immediately ran out a bought (actually so did many other people, I had to order it!), the book is also called "Cook Yourself Thin"I purchased this books before I decided to become a vegetarian. I was looking through the cookbook trying to figure out what to make for my non-vegetarian family, when I realized to my surprise how many vegetarian recipes where in the book. Some examples: Mushroom and Spinach Quiche with Potato Crust, Pasta Primavera, Eggplant Stacks, just to name a few. Also some really yummy desserts like Vanilla Cupcakes made with zucchini and Carrot Cake, all low calorie and low fat!
I decided to make the "Spinach and Mushroom Veggie Lasagna" for dinner tonight. It was delicious! Even my non-vegetarian husband liked it!
Here's the recipe:
Serves 12
337 calories per serving

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds cremini and/or shitake mushrooms, sliced (I used button mushrooms, its what I had in the refrigerated)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
kosher salt
1 15-oz container part-skim ricotta
3/4 cup skim milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided evenly
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, plus more to garnish
1 teaspoon dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper
5 cups tomato sauce
12 sheets no-cook lasagna noodles
nonstick cooking spray
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and thyme and season with salt. Cook until softened, about 10-12 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, milk, and eggs and stir. Add 1 cup of mozzarella, Parmesan, spinach, basil and oregano: season with salt and pepper and stir to incorporate.
4. Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch pan. Layer 4 sheets of lasagna on top, slightly overlapping. Spread with half the ricotta mixture on the noodles, and cover with half the mushroom mixture. Top with 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce. Repeat with 4 sheets of lasagna pasta, remaining ricotta mixture, remaining mushrooms and 1 1 /2 cups tomato sauce. Cover with the remaining 4 sheets of lasagna, the remaining cup of tomato sauce, and the remaining mozzarella cheese.
5. Lightly coat a sheet of aluminum foil with nonstick spray and cover the uncooked lasagna, spray-side down. Bake at 375 degrees, covered, until bubbly, about 45 minutes.
Remove foil from lasagna and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Cook until cheese browns, about 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Serve warm and garnish with basil.
Enjoy!