A new kind of lasagna

I made lasagna last night for dinner. But it wasn't any ordinary lasagna. The 'noodles' that I used were made out of eggs and spinach. You cook them like crepes and therefore don't look anything like lasagna noodles. But that's what makes it cool, right? I saw the idea for an egg noodle the other day when I was surfing the food web trying to plan my menu for the week. I was definitely interested and wanted to try it. In hopes of a great success, I even wrote down what I put in my lasagna so I could share the recipe with you.

What I love about this concept is how versatile it is. It is like a crepe, but naturally gluten and dairy free, as well as low-carb and high protein. You could make them savory or sweet. I bet mixing the eggs with cinnamon and vanilla and filling them with spiced apples or fresh fruit and coconut cream would make an awesome dessert. Or you could make "tortillas" by mixing the eggs with some fresh cilantro and tomatoes, then fill them with beans and top it off with some green or red salsa. The options are endless.
For my filling I used sauteed onions and mushrooms, spinach, and artichoke hearts mixed in with my spaghetti sauce. You want the mixture to be thick as the noodles won't absorb much liquid.

Looks just like real lasagna! I thought it tasted fabulous too! The texture was a bit different as the noodles were airy and a little spongy. But I enjoyed that part of it and thought it worked well. It was seasoned perfectly, and the noodles really absorbed all the good flavors from the sauce. After eating this I felt completely satisfied and nourished.

Egg Noodle Lasagna (gluten-free)

Noodles:

7-8 eggs

8oz. frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry (I bought 1lb. bag of frozen spinach and put half in the noodles and half in the sauce)

1/2 tsp italian seasoning

Salt and Pepper

Sauce:

olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 medium onion finely diced

8 oz. mushrooms sliced

8oz. spinach thawed and squeezed dry

14. oz can artichoke hearts rinsed, drained, chopped

24 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste if it needs it

1 cup of provolone cheese (it would also work really well with a different cheese like feta or mozzarella or a mixture)

Beat eggs until frothy, add spinach and seasonings. Heat up a non-stick pan and pour 1/4 cup batter in at a time. I had to use my flipping spatula to spread it around because the spinach made it a bit difficult to even out. After about 30 sec. you can flip and let it finish cooking on the other side. It goes quick once everything is good and hot so you have to work fast. You should get about 10 crepes.

In another pan, heat up about a tablespoon of olive oil and add your onions and garlic. After that has cooked for a few minutes add the mushrooms. It may seem like a lot, but it cooks down. After the onions have starting to brown and the mushrooms are soft turn off the heat and set aside. Add the spinach and chopped artichoke hearts. Make sure you squeeze all the excess water out of the spinach and artichokes because you don't want the sauce to be runny. Then add your spaghetti sauce.

Grease an 8x11 pan and cover the bottom with sauce/veggie mixture. Layer with egg noodles, and you will have to tear a few apart to fill in the gaps. Add another layer of sauce and keep going until you run out of noodles and finish with a layer of sauce. I made mine with three layers. Then sprinkle your cheese on top, and I finished it off by sprinkling more red pepper flakes but that is completely optional. I like my lasagna spicy.

This was also my first time using our oven. I found out it has a backlit panel on top. It worked like a charm and looks even cooler. I am a blessed woman.