Cottage Cheese and Veggie Casserole

Cottage cheese is an excellent vegetarian food, as just half of a cup has 13 grams of protein. I will eat cold cottage cheese with fruit in it, but I honestly don't really enjoy it! I much prefer it in savory dishes. This casserole is basically vegetarian lasagna without the noodles or marinara sauce, but it is surprisingly satisfying. It can be made with whatever vegetables or beans or cheeses you have on hand.

Cottage Cheese and Veggie Casserole

1 (16oz) container of cottage cheese
2 eggs
salt and pepper
parsley
Italian seasoning
oregano
dash of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
1/2 of a yellow onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 head of broccoli, including the stem, chopped
2 carrots, shredded
2 cups of cooked beans (I used fava beans)
2 cups of shredded cheeses (I used a mixture of Smoked Cheddar, Parmesan, and Swiss)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Steam the broccoli for a maximum of 10 minutes.
3. In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until hot. Add the onion and saute for several minutes. Add the garlic and saute until tender.
4. Gently stir together the cooked onion, the shredded carrot, the steamed broccoli and the beans. Set aside.
5. In a bowl, whisk the cottage cheese with the eggs and seasonings. As for the amounts of each, season as you would a lasagna. Set aside.
6. With the remaining olive oil, grease a baking pan. Assemble the casserole by layering as you would a lasagna: a bit of cottage cheese mixture, some of the veggie mixture, a bit of the cheese, more cottage cheese mixture, more veggies, etc until all of the ingredients are used.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve.