Lasagna al Forno

Here is an attempt to make lasagna a little bit healthier. This recipe
is also from my Laurel's Kitchen cookbook. The Daddy really liked it!

3/4 pound whole wheat
or whole wheat-soy lasagna noodles
6 cups tomato sauce, Italian style (I used mine from a can)
2 cups cottage cheese
3 cups grated mozzarella or Swiss cheese
1-3 bunches of spinach, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts or almonds

Cook noodles in a very large pan of boiling , salted water until
almost tender: they will cook more in the oven, absorbing liquid from
the sauce as they do, and if they are slightly undercooked at the
point, they'll hold together better while you're assembling the dish.

Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13x2 1/2 inch baking
dish, add a layer of noodles, lengthwise. Keep the best noodles for
the top. Each layer of noodles should lie crosswise to the one below
it.

On the layer of noodles, spread the first layer of filling; one half
the cottage cheese, one third of the nuts, one forth of the Parmesan;
and a coating of sauce. Layer noodles again, then the spinach and most
of the mozzarella, and sauce. More noodles, another cheese and nuts
layer, and your prettiest noodles across the top. Add sauce and the
rest of the nuts and cheese for the top. Bake at 350 degrees for
30-45 minutes; then let stand 10 minutes before cutting-otherwise it
will be too runny to hold together and too hot to eat. Serves 8.

NOTE: This is the original recipe in the book. Let me tell you what I
did and what I'm going to do in the future. I added shiitake mushrooms
to the spinach layer as well. I made two casseroles using the same
ingredients. This way I had the flavors of the cheese but it didn't
go overboard. So I put a 1/2 cup cottage cheese on the cottage cheese
layer instead of 1 cup. It was still sooooo good. In the future I'm
going to add tons more spinach and mushrooms. I would cut back even
more on the cheese and maybe add some different veggies like zucchini
or summer squash, maybe some green peppers. In the Laurel's cookbook
it suggests using tofu instead of cottage cheese. Also, a topping of
bread crumbs with a little olive oil would be good too. This is
definitely good for company. We had guests the night I made it and
they really liked it. Don't omit the walnuts. They have that good for you omega-3 fat in them and added a nice crunch!