Asparagus and Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Lasagna

I was watching the food network a few summers back and Giada de Laurentiis was making this asparagus and sun-dried tomato pesto lasagna (from scratch of course) and thought it sounded good but could be easier.

This has become a family favorite, even my two year old ate 2 pieces!

You will need…

1 bundle of asparagus- chopped into bit size pieces, about 1/2 of a white onion- chopped, 1 to 2 tbs of minced garlic, small container of ricotta cheese, 1 package of real bacon bits (This is optional, and you can always cook and chop your own bacon.), 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, 1 jar of sun-dried tomato pesto, 2 cups (or more) of  shredded mozzarella cheese, and 9 lasagna noodles (I like to use the oven-ready noodles to cut back on time.)

Start by sautéing the asparagus, onion, and garlic *with a touch of salt and pepper.

After they have cooked for about 7-10 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the asparagus is bright green, put the sautéed mix in a bowl to cool for 10 minutes or so.

Once the sautéed mix has cooled a little, add the ricotta cheese, bacon, and parmesan cheese. Mix well. *This is your filling between layers.

To assemble the lasagna:

Start with spreading a spoon full of the sun-dried tomato pesto on the bottom of the baking dish. *This will help it not stick and keep the noodles from burning.

Then lay down a layer of noodles to cover the baking dish (*I use 3 noodles per layer) and spread about 1/3 of the jar of pesto on top of the noodles.

Next, spoon HALF of the asparagus filling and spread it to cover the noodles.

Top with mozzarella cheese, and repeat this process one more time.

You will have a layer of noodles at the top, spread the last 1/3 of the pesto to cover the noodles and then cover the top with mozzarella cheese.

Loosely cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.