I love love LOVE to cook. Southern Italian is the only ethnic dish I could cook without a recipe. I cook by taste and smell. So I do eat quite healthy due to high blood pressure and IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Oh my, I just said that out publicly. I should be nervous. Nahhh. I am a frequent buyer of Metamucil and plums. Not just for old people folks.
HehnnnyWAysssss,
This post is my version and recipe of a healthier and heartier lasagna. Not for excessive cheese fanatics...hmm but this may be a recipe which could help you ween off of excessive cheese by trying a lighter recipe. Taste for yourself, the goodness of cheese could still be had in a smaller, skim or fat free, portion. Crazy? Trust. I know. I KNOW. *hands up* Calm down. Just calm de fk down and hear me out. I hear yeah. You could taste the difference between "real" cheese and "fake" cheese. I get it. I for one am a cheese fanatic. It takes time. Yet just give this recipe a shot. It has taken me time to learn to appreciate smaller portions of cheese and lower my
Now for the recipe:
Sad news is I cannot tell you exactly what to measure out for the spices. As a cook, you have to take the time and smell and taste your cooking in progress. I can at least tell you the guidelines and you'll have something here to work off of.
Ingredients:
(More than a tsp for each)
Dried Thyme
Dried Oregano
Dried Rosemary
Fennel Seed
Dried Basil ( You'll need about 2 tablespoons. Best to work with fresh if possible, and slowly add in throughout the cooking process.)
Red Pepper Flakes
FRESH ground black pepper
Garlic Powder (at least a tablespoon or more)
*Note: with spices, add about a tsp or 2 to start, then add 1 tsp of each 15 mins before you're done simmering the sauce for a strong flavor.
*Doublllleeee Note: Add spices throughout simmer process. Keep tasting your pasta ever so often and make it how you like it.
1lb turkey (could use lean ground as ultimate healthy option, but I used mild Turkey sausage for more flavor.)
20 oz fresh spinach
1.5 lb snow white button mushrooms (a VERY good option is to use cremini. Omgosh cremini...they're pricier though :/ )
1 red bell pepper
1 carrot (about a foot long)
5 tomatoes diced
30 oz canned tomato sauce, lowest sodium as possible
16 oz canned tomato paste, lowest sodium as possible
1 cup water
Fresh Parsley
1/2 cup Chianti Red Wine
1/4 cup dry sherry wine
1 tblsp brown sugar
1 egg
Fat Free Ricotta Cheese( I was hesitant to try it. Result? HELLA GOOD.)
1 cup low fat or skim or fat free mozarella
1 cup low fat or skim or fat free Parmesan
1 box lasagna pasta. Wheat is best. Bad Ass Husband said, "Hell No," publicly in the store when i picked up the box up. I hunched over. I felt like a kid wanting the cereal box, only because there was a free toy inside and my mom just scolded me. He's already sacrificing his cheese in this recipe...so I said fine...refined pasta it is...I compromised.
Last but not least: a baking dish bigger than the standard 9x13, hahaha, there's gotta be one! Well, you'll have definitely 2 cups of left over filling. Save it! You could just toss it with spaghetti or make a meatball sandwich. Endless possibilities.
Directions:
Lasagna noodles: Cook until al dente.
Mushrooms: Chop mushrooms in thick slices, about 1/8", then cut those slices in half. Put mushrooms in a separate pan with the dry sherry wine. Let simmer for 20 minutes? Make the mushrooms shrink half their size as their water content evaporates.
Spinach: chop spinach and put in separate pan, setting burner on medium to low. When the spinach has shrunk. Place about 5 sheets of paper towels on a plate. Pour spinach over paper towels. Place an additional 5 paper towels on top and press down with a wooden spoon. Make sure to absorb as much water from the spinach as possible. Don't cut corners! Very important or else you risk your pasta sauce being diluted and bitter.
Bell Pepper: Chop in small small dices. Bell peppers are somewhat acidic, but "sneaking" bell pepper into the pasta helps add more fiber, in addition to the spinach. Fiber is what helps make you fuller faster. So make sure to chop that bell pepper as tiny as possible!
Carrot: Chop as small as possible. Put it in a food processor if you must. We're just sneaking in a vegetable. Whole lotta good stuff.
Turn oven on to 425 degrees.
Ok now, putting it all together:
In a huge skillet, remove sausage from casings (or cook ground turkey) and cook until fully done. Then mix everything in the skillet but the mushrooms, Spinach... egg, ricotta, oh and the lasagna noodles ;).
Simmer for an hour or hour and a half for best results while mixing periodically to prevent burning the bottom of the skillet.
Mix in mushrooms the last 15 minutes of simmering.
Remove skillet from heat and mix cooked and drained spinach in sauce.
In a separate mixing bowl, mix ricotta and 1 egg and about 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley.
Next up, layers:
Pour a very thin layer of pasta filling on the bottom of your baking dish. Then lay lasagna noodles evenly. Then half the ricotta mixture, topped with a little bit of mozarella and parmesean. Then lay down pasta filling. Continue layering. The amount you put in each layer is up to you. Go easy on the cheese. The whole point was to cut back. Trust. You'll taste the good ol cheese in this dish.
The last layer, make sure you end with the filling on top and not the noodles. Then sprinkle a little bit of parmesean and mozarella. I diiiiiid however get gready on my top layer. I did 1/4 cup of parmesean on top. Hey. HEY. before you judge. I only put about two tablespoons or less of Parmesan in each layer. So there!
Cover dish with foil and put baking dish on top of a baking flat sheet to catch the drippings. Bake with foil for 25 minutes. Uncover, then bake again for an additional 25 minutes.
Hey.
Did you notice?
No salt added. Tastes damn good huh? :D
Please please comment below if you tried this recipe, and or your version! I would love to hear your input. Even if you didn't like it. I'd like to know why. Helps me make adjustments if necessary.
*~* Bear Hugs *~*
-Yogi
