Tag: lasagna

Categories
Main Dish

Lighten up and try a new lasagna recipe this week

This lightened up version of homemade lasagna still packs in tons of great flavor, despite using lower-fat ingredients.
This lightened up version of homemade lasagna still packs in tons of great flavor, despite using lower-fat ingredients.

I know that most of the recipes I share with you in this space are “sometimes” foods.

From pasta-laden, full-fat casseroles swimming in cheese to decadent desserts with more sugar than a bag of Pixy Stix, I know the temptation is real.

But we all need some recipes that look and sound a bit sinful but actually aren’t as bad as they seem. That’s where this week’s dish comes in. As soon as I saw a lightened version of lasagna, I knew I needed to try it and hoped it would be as good as it looked.

Good news: it was.

This comes from the blog “You Brew My Tea” by Katie Hale. You can find the original post at https://www.youbrewmytea.com/lightened-homemade-lasagna-dish. I added way more herbs/spices and changed the amounts of some of the other ingredients in my version.

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Lightened Homemade Lasagna

This lightened up version of homemade lasagna still packs in tons of great flavor, despite using lower-fat ingredients.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword basil, cottage cheese, garlic, green bell pepper, ground turkey, lasagna, light recipe, low-fat, mozzarella, onion powder, oregano, oven-ready lasagna, red bell pepper, red pepper flakes, ricotta cheese, tomato paste, tomato sauce, turkey sausage

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lean ground turkey breast
  • 1 pound Italian turkey sausage
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
  • 1 green bell pepper diced
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 3, 15- ounce cans tomato sauce
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
  • 1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
  • 2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese shredded, divided
  • 12 oven-ready lasagna noodles

Instructions

  • Heat a stock pot or Dutch oven with a lid over medium heat. Add the turkey and sausage and saute until it is fully cooked, crumbling the meat as you go.
  • When the meat is almost totally cooked, add in the bell peppers and onions and saute for another five minutes or so.
  • Add the garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt, onion powder, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir well.
  • Leave the burner on medium and place the lid on the pot. Let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • While the sauce simmers, combine the cottage cheese, ricotta and one cup of the mozzarella into a bowl. Stir to combine.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray a deep nine-by-13-inch pan with cooking spray.
  • Remove the sauce from the heat, give it another good stir, and start assembling your lasagna.
  • Place four noodles on the bottom of the casserole dish. (I had to break one of mine to get fill coverage. It doesn’t have to be perfect.) Spread one-third of the sauce over the noodles, and then dollop one-third of the cheese mixture on top of the sauce.
  • Repeat twice more.
  • After the final layer, add the final cup of shredded mozzarella.
  • Bake for 45 minutes. Serve hot with some crusty bread.

We really, really enjoyed this. It wasn’t as decadent as making a full-fat lasagna (especially because I love making Paula Deen’s version), but it was still really good, and just like with regular lasagna, we thought it was even better when we reheated the leftovers the next day. I loved the bell pepper flavor in the sauce.

We also put several pieces in the freezer for quick meals down the road, and those have defrosted and reheated well, too.

I’m still going to keep normal lasagna directions in my recipe box for special occasions, but this one is going to go on a card right next to it. I can never give up my “sometimes” foods, but recipes like this certainly help in between.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 3, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Cap off this week with a yummy spinach mushroom lasagna

Spinach mushroom lasagna is a filling, flavorful dinner while being completely vegetarian. Paired with a thick slice of bread, this dinner is a crowd pleaser.
Spinach mushroom lasagna is a filling, flavorful dinner while being completely vegetarian. Paired with a thick slice of bread, this dinner is a crowd pleaser.

I bought so many mushrooms this week.

And when I tell you that even the cashier at our local grocery store asked me what was up with the mushrooms, you know I definitely bought more than a normal person does.

What can I say? I love a good sale. And this sale included big, beautiful portabella mushroom caps. Who can resist?

I felt like the find was serendipity, considering I just purchased a clearance container of ricotta cheese earlier in the week. The universe was telling me to make lasagna, and who am I to deny divine providence when it comes to my dinner menu?

So the recipe I tried comes from one of my absolute favorite food blogs, “Damn Delicious.” It’s written by Chungah Rhee, and I have seriously never tried one of her recipes that failed. She makes really, really good food. You can find the original post for this recipe at https://damndelicious.net/2015/03/07/creamy-spinach-and-mushroom-lasagna/. I added more garlic and doubled the seasonings in my version.

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Spinach Mushroom Lasagna

Spinach mushroom lasagna is a filling, flavorful dinner while being completely vegetarian. Paired with a thick slice of bread, this dinner is a crowd pleaser.
Course Main Course
Keyword baby bellas, basil, cremini mushroom, garlic, lasagna, mozzarella, mushrooms, oregano, parmesan cheese, parsley, portabella, portabello, ricotta cheese, spinach, vegetarian, yellow onion

Ingredients

Sauce Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound mushrooms thinly sliced (I used portabellas)
  • 1/4 cup flour might need more
  • 3 cups milk I used skim
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • pinch nutmeg
  • salt and pepper to taste

Other Ingredients

  • 9 lasagna noodles
  • 15 ounces ricotta
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella divided
  • 3/4 cup grated parmesan divided (use fresh or the bottled stuff)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Start with the sauce. In a Dutch oven or stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until it is getting soft. Add in the garlic and mushrooms, and continue sauteing for a few minutes until the mushrooms reduce down and soften a bit.
  • Stir in the flour, making sure to soak up any butter or juices from the vegetables. (If there is still liquid in the pot, add more flour, a little at a time, until it’s all soaked up.) Continue stirring to cook the flour taste out of the mixture for about two minutes.
  • Gradually add in the milk while stirring. Continue stirring constantly, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot, until the sauce thickens slightly. That should take around five minutes or so.
  • Stir in the basil, oregano, parsley and nutmeg, along with salt and pepper. Remove the sauce from the heat.
  • In another large pot, boil the lasagna noodles according to package directions.
  • While the noodles cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Stir the dried parsley, along with some salt and pepper into the ricotta. Also add salt and pepper, to taste, to the chopped spinach.
  • When the noodles are done, spread about one cup of the sauce in the bottom of a deep nine-by-13-inch baking dish.
  • Lay three lasagna noodles over the sauce. Top that with half of the ricotta cheese, then half of the spinach, then one cup mozzarella and one-quarter cup parmesan.
  • Repeat those layers.
  • Finish the lasagna off with a layer of noodles, the rest of the sauce and the rest of the cheese.
  • Bake, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes or until the lasagna is bubbling. Turn the broiler on high for about two minutes to brown the top.
  • Let the lasagna sit 10 to 15 minutes before serving, and refrigerate any leftovers.

This was very, very good, and it was filling, too. I paired it with a loaf of Italian bread, and there was no way we were even considering dessert after dinner. The mushrooms make this meatless meal feel substantial, and using the portabellas (you could also use creminis or baby bellas or another meatier mushroom) gave a depth of flavor to this that didn’t make you even think about the lack of animal protein.

Plus, it ended up making a ton of leftovers that Joey and I have been enjoying throughout the week, and it reheats really well. And the good news is I still have a few more big mushroom caps to use this week. Shopping the grocery sales is often an adventure and rarely a disappointment.

This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 10, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Crockpot Main Dish

Pantry clean out calls for finally using my noodle

Crockpot lasagna is easy to put together and creates a great, hot dinner without standing over the stove for hours.
Crockpot lasagna is easy to put together and creates a great, hot dinner without standing over the stove for hours.

After weeks of opening my pantry and sighing deeply at the mess and disorganization, I finally pulled every last item out this past weekend.

Joey came into the kitchen to find boxes, bags and containers on every countertop.

“Today’s the day, huh?” he said, and then he wisely made himself scarce.

He knows better than to get in the middle of my crazy when I’m trying to organize.

As I dug through the pile, I discovered several things. One: At some point, I purchased corn starch, forgot I purchased corn starch and purchased corn starch again. Two: I have way more cupcake liners than I thought I did. And three: For some reason, I spent some time in the past collecting half-full boxes of lasagna noodles.

I’m not really sure what to do with my wealth of cornstarch, and the cupcake liners are now tucked away in a much better location, so I turned my attention to the lasagna noodles, but since I’d already spent a bunch of time cleaning, I decided I needed an easy recipe to try.

The one I found fit the bill: a crockpot lasagna.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Big Oven.” You can find the original post at https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/easy-crockpot-lasagna/229584.

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Crockpot Lasagna

Crockpot lasagna is easy to put together and creates a great, hot dinner without standing over the stove for hours.
Course Main Course
Keyword crockpot, easy dinner, mozarella cheese, parmesan cheese, pasta sauce, ricotta cheese, slow cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 3-4 cups mozzarella cheese divided
  • 15 ounces ricotta cheese I used low-fat
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 1 cup fresh spinach cut into ribbons
  • 24 ounces spaghetti sauce
  • 6 to 9 uncooked lasagna noodles I used a combo of regular and oven-ready

Instructions

  • In a large skillet over medium heat, brown and crumble the ground beef, along with the onions.
  • While the beef and onions cook, add 2 cups of the mozzarella, the ricotta, parmesan, egg, parsley and spinach in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
  • Once the beef is cooked through, drain off as much fat as you can, and add the minced garlic, sauteing for a few minutes.
  • Add the pasta sauce and 1/2 cup of water to the skillet. (To really help clean out the jar, pour the water into the jar after you dump the sauce in the pan, and swish it around before adding it to the pan, too.) Add any seasonings you want to spice up your pasta sauce. (I added oregano, basil, parsley, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to mine.) Cook the sauce for a few minutes to let it all heat through.
  • In a large crockpot, add about one cup of the sauce to the bottom. Layer in as many noodles as you can fit in a single layer (break them, if necessary).
  • Spread half of the cheese mixture on top.
  • Add about two cups of sauce and add another layer of noodles.
  • Finish out by spreading the second half of the cheese mixture on and topping with the remaining sauce.
  • Cook on low for four to five hours or until your noodles are cooked through.
  • About 10 minutes before serving, top with the rest of your mozzarella and cover to let the cheese melt.
  • (I ended up putting this together the night before we wanted to eat it and refrigerated it in my crockpot. I plugged it in and cooked it on high for four hours, since it started out cold, and it cooked up great.)

This was pretty darn good, made for great leftovers, and it took way less time than a traditional lasagna. You could easily kick this up a notch with fancier sauces or subbing in half the ground beef with sausage, too.

And now I’m down to just one partial box of lasagna, which fits my newly organized aesthetic much better. I still sigh when I open my pantry, but it’s a sigh of happiness now.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 16, 2021.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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