GFDF Lasagna (pasta bake)

I found this recipe on Pinterest for a gluten free, dairy free lasagna. It looked very tasty and somewhat easy to follow, so I tried it. When I got to the store to buy the lasagna noodles I realized just how much more expensive they were than the macaroni shaped gluten free noodles, so I opted for the macaroni noodles instead. That is where this isn't exactly lasagna, but more of a pasta bake. The original recipe is here. You can see that I simplified it by using a jar of sauce rather than making the sauce and I didn't use quite as many veggies as certain family members do not care for onions or red peppers. So, here it goes....

1 pkg sliced mushrooms (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (pushed through garlic press)

1 pkg turkey Italian sausage links (removed from casings)

1  26  oz jar spaghetti sauce

1 bag gluten free macaroni noodles (*)

1 cup cashews (soaked 30 min or as long as six hours)

3/4 cup water

1 egg 

1 handful fresh parsley

Pinches of salt, garlic salt

Turn on pot of water for noodles.

Saute mushroom and garlic in olive oil.

Add Italian sausage to skillet.

Once sausage is cooked through, add the jar of spaghetti sauce. Simmer for twenty minutes.

Cook pasta while red sauce simmers.

Cashew sauce...After cashews have soaked, drain them. Place in blender with 3/4 cup water. Blend until nice and smooth. Add egg, parsley, salt and garlic salt. Blend just until mixed, but not too long as the parsley will turn the sauce green. 

Layer in 8x8 dish as follows (below).Cover dish with foil. Cook in oven at 350 for thirty minutes. Remove foil, turn heat up to 375 and cook for additional 10 to 15 minutes, until bubbly.

Red sauce in bottom of pan

Top red sauce with cashew sauce.

Noodle layer

Cashew sauce on top of noodles.

Red sauce.

Noodles

Cashew sauce

Red Sauce (end with red sauce on top)

*  I ended up using about 3/4 of the bag of noodles in the "lasagna" and saved the rest for lunch the next day. 

**I did this recipe in steps. I made the red sauce and cooked the pasta during L's nap time and stored them in the fridge. I made the cashew sauce right before I was ready to assemble the dish and cook it at dinner time.