Italian Vegetable Casserole

Ingredients

• 4 ounces dry (or 3 cups cooked, cooled) spaghetti or egg noodles
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1½ teaspoons fresh, finely chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried) rosemary
• 1½ teaspoons fresh, finely chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried) oregano
• 16 ounces no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 1½ cups diced zucchini
• 1 cup coarsely chopped broccoli
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 1 cup firmly packed fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 8 ounces part-skim cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups (8 ounces) part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese

Method

1. Thoroughly wash hands for 20 seconds and clean all food preparation surfaces.
2. Cut cooked spaghetti noodles into short pieces.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Meanwhile, mix garlic, rosemary, oregano and tomato sauce. Set aside.
5. Over medium heat, cook zucchini, broccoli and onion in a skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray with 1/4 cup water until crisp-tender. (Or cook in microwave without water.)
6. Add spinach to vegetable mixture. Cook until just warm. Remove from heat. Stir in carrots. Set aside.
7. In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, eggs and Parmesan. Set aside.
8. In an 8 x 8-inch baking pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, place noodles, then add cottage cheese mixture followed by the cooked vegetable mixture, then the tomato sauce mixture.
9. Sprinkle mozzarella on top.
10. If desired, cover, refrigerate and cook casserole later today or tomorrow.
11. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove cover and bake 10 minutes longer or until the mozzarella cheese is light brown.
12. Remove casserole from the oven. Wait 10 minutes before serving.