Recipe of the Week- Creamy Artichoke Lasagna

This week's recipe's is a vegetarian delight! I found the recipe through Pinterest, my current source for new recipes. I usually make one vegetarian dish a week and this was last week's dish. It is a Creamy Artichoke Lasagna and absolutely divine. It's creamy, flavorful and almost like a dessert in it's decadence. J & I loved it! The recipe made a lot of sauce, so next time Im going to use a larger dish and more lasagna noodles. Im planning to make it this week and freeze it for eating after the baby comes.

Recipe: Creamy Artichoke Lasagna
Source: Adapted from Midwest Living.com via Pinterest

Ingredients:

1 15 oz. can of artichokes (the recipe calls for fresh ones, but for the sake of time, I used canned. It was super easy and tasted great!)   *edit- Ive made this again since writing up this post and I used two cans!
9 lasagna noodles (Im going to use more next time!) *edit- I used 12 noodles the second time
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. pine nuts
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 15. oz carton ricotta cheese
1 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 c. chopped fresh basil
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt.
1 c. veggie or chicken broth (I used chicken)
1/4 c. flour
2 c. half and half or light cream (I used light cream)
1 c. shredded mozzerella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Cook lasagna noodles according to package; drain. Rinse with cold water. Drain again.

2. In large saucepan heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add artichokes, pine nuts and half of the garlic. Cook several minutes until tender, stirring frequently. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in ricotta cheese, 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, 1/2 c. basil, egg and salt.

3. For the sauce: Combine broth and flour in a small bowl. In the large saucepan, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add remaining garlic and cook until tender, but not browned. Stir in flour mixture and light cream. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining 1/2 c. basil.

4.  Combine mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/2 c. parmesan cheese in a small bowl.

5. Spread 1 c. of the sauce over the bottom of an ungreased 3 quart baking dish. Layer 3 cooked noodles in the dish. Spread with 1/3 c. of the artichoke mixture and 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. of the mozzarella mixture. Repeat, layering noodles, artichoke mix, sauce and cheese twice more.

6. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes until edges are bubbly and the top is lightly browned.

7. Enjoy!

The finished product

I went to France for the day on the day that I made this and bought these
cheeses while I was there. We had French cheese and bread with our lasagna,
a perfect accompaniment.