Olive Garden Style Vegetarian Lasagna

We don't eat pasta, but this sure sounds good!

Olive Garden Style Vegetarian Lasagna
A bountiful vegetable mixture, a rich ricotta cheese mixture, and a homemade, cream sauce make this vegetarian lasagna well worth the extra effort.

Ingredients
Alfredo Sauce:

• 1/2 lb. Sweet or salted butter
• 12 oz. Heavy cream
• Fresh ground white pepper
• 1 1/2 C. Fresh Parmesan -- grate
• 18 slices Mozzarella cheese -- 1/2 oz. ea

Ricotta Mixture:

• 1 pint Ricotta cheese
• 2 oz. Romano -- grate
• 3 oz. Mozzarella -- shred
• 2 Tbs. Green onions -- slice
• 2 tsp. Fresh parsley -- chop
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/8 tsp. Black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. Dried basil
• 1/4 tsp. Dried oregano
• 1 1/4 C. Alfredo sauce – cooled

Vegetable Mixture:

• 4 C. Broccoli florets
• 2 C. Carrots; sliced 1/4" -- then chopped
• 4 C. Mushrooms -- slice 1/4"
• 2 C. Red bell peppers -- dice
• 1 C. Green bell pepper -- dice
• 1 C. Yellow onion -- dice
• 2 C. Zucchini -- slice

Lasagna noodles

Directions
 
Lay out enough dry lasagna noodles in a 9x13 pan to ensure you have enough to make 3 full layers, with very little overlap on each layer. Remove the dry strips and cook according to package instructions until barely "al dente" and drain. 

Alfredo Sauce: Heat water to a boil in the bottom of a double boiler. Add butter, cream and pepper to the top pot and heat until butter is completely melted, then stir in Parmesan until melted and blended. Remove top pot and set aside to cool. Divide the sauce into 2 equal portions. Refrigerate 1 portion for use later. 

Ricotta Cheese Mixture: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Set aside at room temp. 

Vegetables: Combine all veggies and mix well. 

Assembly: Coat the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish with vegetable spray. Lay out cooked lasagna strips (about 4) to cover entire bottom. Spread 1-1/4 c of the Ricotta mix evenly over the strips. Top with 8 c of veggie mix and spread out evenly. Lay out 9 of the mozzarella slices to cover the veggie layer. Repeat this layering. Top the second layer of mozzarella slices with lasagna strips and spread them evenly with 1-1/4 c ricotta cheese mix to finish. Cooking: Spray a sheet of foil with vegetable spray and cover the baking dish tightly with the foil, sprayed side down. Bake in a preheated 375~ oven for about an hour or until the internal temp is 165~. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes, covered, before cutting and serving. Immediately prior to serving, heat the reserved portion of Alfredo Sauce and ladle the hot sauce over each slice of lasagna as it is served. Serves 8.