Vegetarian Kidney Lasagna

The rainy weather yesterday had me yearning for comfort food, and few foods are more comforting than lasagna.

I had no meat, nor an overwhelming amount of cheese. What I did have were a variety of odds and ends and a ten can assortment of beans. Black beans, chickpeas, and kidney beans....I went with the red beans to match the tomatoes. Plus, I like the play on words: Vegetarian Kidney.

It's the little things, you know.

I had this with a salad of fresh spinach, parsley, basil, chives, and red onion; a few croutons substituted for the garlic bread I knew I'd inevitably want.

Vegetarian Kidney Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 tsp light olive oil

1-2 marinated artichoke hearts, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 15-oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1 c alfredo sauce of choice (or use recipe below)

6 no-boil lasagna noodles

1/4 c smoked Provolone, shredded

1/4 c Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/3 c fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Heat the olive oil and artichoke in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender. Mix in garlic; saute another minute. Add red beans, tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, and cook 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a 9x9 glass pan, spread 1/4 cup of the alfredo sauce. Place two lasagna noodles on top of alfredo sauce. Spoon half the kidney bean mixture over the noodles, followed by 1/4 cup of alfredo. Repeat these layers (noodles, beans, alfredo) until you have placed the last 2 lasagna noodles. End with the remaining 1/4 cup of alfredo sauce and top with the cheeses and parsley. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes in preheated oven. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Alfredo-Style Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tbs butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 c milk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 c Provolone, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, heat butter over med-low heat. Once butter is melted, add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add cream and milk to pan. Stirring frequently, bring to a slight simmer (do not boil!). Add cheeses and continue cooking over med-low heat, frequently stirring, until cheese is melted and sauce has thickened. Season to taste.