A Greek-themed Vegetarian Meal

Yesterday, I decided that I needed to use up a can of black-eyed peas that I bought a few months ago.  I've never had black-eyed peas before, so I did a search online for some vegetarian recipes.  My search brought me to a delicious sounding Greek Black-Eyed Peas Salad recipe on www.simplyrecipes.com.  (My only tweaks here were using canned black-eyed peas, omitting the green onion, and adding a quarter of an avocado).

                                 

It sounded so good that I immediately emailed it to my friend Laura, a fellow self-proclaimed foodie.  The next thing I knew, we were getting together for dinner (with our kids) for a Greek/Mediterranean themed meal.  I figured Henry would not eat the salad, so we decided to make a Greek-style Vegetarian Lasagna as well that I based off of a few different recipes that I read online.  Beware: This is not a low-calorie recipe by any means!

Initially it seemed that the lasagna was not a success.  My friend Laura's 3-year-old ate some of it, but was not too thrilled.  My other friend Emily's daughter, who is 2, did pretty well with it, but did not eat as much for dinner as usual.  And Henry? He tried a tiny bite and spit it right out.  The only kid who couldn't get enough was Laura's 9 month old!  All of us mommies thoroughly enjoyed it though - as well as the salad.  

And then, about 20 minutes before Henry was going to bed, my husband came home and made himself a plate of the lasagna.  Next thing I knew, Henry ate almost half of what my husband had on his plate.  I guess he just wasn't in the mood to eat beforehand!

Greek Veggie Lasagna

1 (13.75 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/3 cup green olives, chopped

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped

2 cups frozen spinach, thawed 

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

4 cups 1% milk

pinch salt

pinch nutmeg

12 no-bake lasagna noodles

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups jarred tomato sauce

1.  Preheat oven to 375.

2.  Combine artichokes, olives, sundried tomatoes, and spinach in a bowl.  Set aside.

3.  In a pot, melt butter.  Whisk in flour and let cook for 2 minutes.  Add in the milk, bring to low boil, and then simmer until thickened.  Add in salt and nutmeg.

4.  In a 9x13 baking dish, ladle a quarter of the white sauce.  Lay 4 lasagna noodles on top, then 1/4 of the white sauce, half the artichoke mixture, 1/3 of the feta, 1/3 of the mozzarella, and 1 cup of the tomato sauce.  Repeat layers.  To finish top with 4 lasagna noodles, and remaining feta and mozzarella. 

5.  Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand about 15-20 minutes.

Happy and (mostly) healthy eating!