Quadruple Roasted Vegetable Mock Florentine Mock Lasagna

I've been tweaking the blog a bit.  If you look over that way ----> you'll see a clickable Recipe Index.  Thanks to Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes for the code to make that work.  Moving the recipe index off the top bar gave me room for some essays (recipe-free ramblings, really) I wrote way back in the fall :) when I started this blog in case you just feel like reading a bit.
Let me know (comments or on my FB page) what you think!  On to the food.

This, probably more than anything else, illustrates how I feed my family from our CSA farm share all year 'round.

This dish contains 4 roasted veggies:  garlic, roasted after I harvested it and frozen in early summer, eggplant and bell peppers, marinated in a vinaigrette and roasted and frozen when I was overwhelmed with veggies in late summer, and sweet potato, roasted for another use and left over in the fridge.

The mock florentine refers to the liberal use of Swiss chard in lieu of spinach.  I used a bunch of fresh chard (stems in the sauce, leaves with the noodles) in addition to incorporating leftover Creamed Swiss Chard.  (If you're keeping track, the Leftover Score is now at 2).

The mock lasagna refers to the fact that, although I have a well-stocked pantry, I didn't have any lasagna noodles.  Yes,  I could go out and buy some, I'd rather use up what I already got.

Hence the crazy convoluted name.

I walked in the door after an afternoon wheelchair basketball exhibition game with the idea that I wanted "something good" for dinner but having no clue what that would be.  Seventy-five minutes later I was putting this dish in the oven.  It's not a 'quick take', but to go from cluelessly scratching my head in the middle of the kitchen to completed, ready-to-bake Quadruple Roasted Mock Palooza impresses me.  Then again, I'm easily impressed.

Having the roasted veggies and the prepared pesto put up, and a freezer full of potential pizza toppings, means that making this truly does illustrate my goal of feeding my family from our farm share--all year long.

Quadruple Roasted Mock Florentine Mock Lasagna

Eggplant and pepper.

Smooth and ready to go into the skillet and meet the beef.

For the sauce (* = from my freezer stash)

1 onion, chopped
stems from 1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped (deal with the leaves, below)
1 pound ground beef
*2 green peppers, marinated in vinaigrette, roasted and chopped
*2 eggplants, marinated in vinaigrette, roasted and chopped

*1 large clove roasted garlic
*4 Tablespoons prepared pesto sauce

28 ounces diced tomatoes
6 ounces tomato paste
6 ounces red wine
*1/4 cup chopped pepperoni

*1/2 cup crumbled cooked Italian sausage


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, get a large pot of water for noodles heating, and heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add a turn of oil around the skillet.  Sauté onion and chard stems 8-10 minutes until softened.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add ground beef to skillet, brown and drain.
In the large bowl, combine the roasted vegetables--including garlic, pesto, tomatoes, tomato paste, and wine.  My kids don't care for chunks of eggplant (though they like the eggplant flavor) so at this point I used an immersion blender to smooth out the bumps.  Pour the resulting sauce into the skillet with the ground beef.  Add the pepperoni and sausage.  Simmer gently over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While the sauce is simmering, make the cheese filling.

For the cheese/noodle mixture (** = used up open containers/leftovers)

**1 generous cup ricotta cheese (next time, I'm doing it Annemarie's way)

**1/2 cup cottage cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

**2 Tablespoons prepared Alfredo sauce

1 egg

*2 and 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

**1/2 cup cubed roasted sweet potato

leaves from 1 bunch Swiss chard, sliced, sautéed 5-10 minutes until wilted, squeezed dry

**1 and 1/2 cup creamed Swiss chard

1 box Farfalle, cooked and drained

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, cottage, and parmesan cheeses with Alfredo sauce.  Stir in egg, 1 and 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, sweet potato, and chard leaves.  Fold in cooked noodles.

Assembly

Spread 1 cup of sauce across the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.  Layer half of the noodle mixture, then half of the sauce.  Repeat layers.  Top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese.  Bake for 45 - 60 minutes until edges are browned and bubbly.

Prepare this dish while wearing a Mock Turtleneck, if you like.  This post is linked up with the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up at Gastronomical Sovereignty.

Am I the only one excited to use up so many open containers/cans?