Chard and Mushroom Lasagna

Sometimes when not prepared at all the ingredients on hand fall into place to make a special meal. After working in the garden for much of the morning, cutting, weeding and removing plants I had a hankering for something a little hearty for our main meal. This time of year we always seem to have plenty of chard at our disposal soooo....I thought Chard lasagna. It's your basic vegetarian lasagna recipe, using chard and mushrooms.

Realized this was going to take a bit of time to prepare with the cleaning and preparation of the chard, so I went with a store bought marinara and no boil lasagna noodles.

Pretty straight forward, here is the recipe and ingredients:

1 box no boil lasagna noodles
1 egg
1 container (15oz) ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 med onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 large bunch chard
8 ounces of sliced mushrooms
olive oil
Sm bunch fresh basil
1 jar marinara sauce

To prepare:
Saute onion in Olive oil about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic, cook until slightly caramelized. Remove from pan let cool. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil then chard and saute about 3 or 4 min. Add  1/4 to 1/2 of cup of water and cook down. Add salt to taste. Remove and add to mushroom mixture. Cool slightly then add mushroom and chard mixture to ricotta cheese. Finish off with 1 tablespoon fresh basil and one slightly beaten egg.
To assemble:
Spread 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sauce on bottom, then layer in lasagna noodles. Another layer of sauce, then 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, and top this with a sprinkle of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add another layer of noodles, then sauce, then ricotta, and top with cheeses,  for a total about 3 layers (4 noodles each layer). Last layer remaining sauce and a healthy helping of cheese mixture. Sprinkle with fresh basil.
To cook:
Cook about 35 minutes covered with foil. Uncover and cook 10 to 15 minutes longer until slight browned and bubbly. Let stand about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Serve with a green salad and crusty bread. Enjoy!

*Good hot or at room temperature.