Cooking a Healthier Lasagna

Hi guys!  Mid-week already, and the first day of February.  Can you believe it?

My brother, cousin, and god-daughter came over on Sunday night for dinner and some family time.  Lexa brought a big salad, I made a lasagna, and my bro just came over to reap the benefits.  Ha!

Here’s a healthier recipe for all you classic lasagna lovers out there!

Turkey Spinach Lasagna

Recipe inspired by MyRecipes.com

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 pound ground turkey breast — a healthier trade to use instead of ground beef
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 (26-ounce) jars low-fat marinara sauce — reduces the fat
• 1 (16-ounce) carton fat-free cottage cheese  — a healthier cheese to use, note I used a low-fat ricotta on Sunday because I wasn’t sure if my guests would like cottage cheese or not.  Next time I will definitely be making with the cottage cheese instead, I don’t think you’d be able to tell the difference!
• 1/4 cup egg substitute — Note if you opt for ricotta you don’t need the egg substitute, I think this is only for the cottage cheese to give it the same consistency as the ricotta. 
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) pre-shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 8 cooked whole wheat lasagna noodles — opt for whole wheat to make healthier than regular
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350°.

2.  Coat a large skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium-high heat until hot.  Add turkey, onion, and garlic; cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble.  Add 1 jar of the marinara sauce; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.

3.  Combine cottage or ricotta cheese, egg substitute (only if using cottage), Parmesan, parsley, pepper, and spinach; stir well.

4.  Spread remaining marinara sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

5.  Arrange 4 noodles over marinara; top with cottage cheese mixture and half of the mozzarella.

6.  Spoon half of the turkey mixture over the mozzarella. Arrange the remaining noodles over turkey mixture. Top with remaining turkey mixture and mozzarella.

7.  Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I think the lasagna was a bit hit!  Tim came over too and my roommate Bridget was around, so we all had a sit down meal at the dining room table together.  That never happens.  Layla (my almost 3-year-old god-daughter) was too busy sticking her grubby little hands into the salad to pick out all the cherry tomatoes to really enjoy the lasagna.  Oh yeah, and running around everywhere!  She is so active and too cute.

We had a counting lesson with Bridget while putting the salad together…

And then played with some toys that were “lying around the house.”

Fun night with my family!

What are your suggestions for cooking a healthy lasagna?  Any recipes you wanna share in the comments section?  When was the last time you spent time with your family?

Enjoy the day!