Spinach Loaded Lasagna

I decided to make a lasagna last night, but wanted to make it as healthy as possible. My family really enjoyed it. Dan said it had a little too much spinach in it, so next time I might cut out about 1/3 of it. However, my 10 month old, Audrey, wolfed it down, and I knew she was getting her veggies, so that made me feel good. Hopefully she'll continue to enjoy her spinach as she gets older and learns to talk back. :)

Ingredients:

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 lb ground turkey or lean ground beef (I used beef, which is a rare occurence for us)
1 16 oz container part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 16 oz bag frozen spinach
1 and a half jars of marinara sauce
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 head of garlic, chopped (I chopped it up in a mini food processor)
2/3 of a small yellow onion
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the ground beef, drain the grease, and set the beef aside in a bowl. Using the same skillet (just to make less mess), saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil on medium heat. Add the ground beef back in with the onion and garlic, and pour one jar of marinara sauce in with it. Simmer on low while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, and spinach. Mix until well blended. Set aside.

Grease a 9x13 inch glass dish (I use spray canola oil). Pour about 1/3 of the marinara/ground beef mixture on the bottom of the glass dish, and spread it out in a thin layer.

Place three lasagna noodles on top of the marinara mixture (not overlapping). Scoop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles, and spread it into a thin layer. Top with 1/3 of the ground beef mixture, and spread thin. Top with three more noodles, the rest of the ricotta, and another layer of marinara/beef.

Add the three final noodles on top, pour the 1/2 jar of marinara sauce over the noodles and spread it to completely cover the dish, and sprinkle the mozzarella on top.

Loosely cover the dish with foil (don't set it too close to the cheese or it will stick).

Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for another 10 minutes. When you pull it out of the oven at the end of 50 minutes, let it sit and cool for about 15 minutes.


Enjoy with a salad and some garlic bread. :)

Skinny Spaghetti Pie

A lot of my friends know how much I love spaghetti pie. I have been making it for a while, and over the years I have modified it to make it healthier, but it is still absolutely satisfying and yummy. :)

The original recipe called for ground beef, spaghetti noodles, a jar of marinara, cream cheese, sour cream, shredded cheddar, and green onions.

I now make it using the following list of ingredients:


1 lb of lean ground turkey
1/2 box of whole wheat thin spaghetti
1 jar of marinara (or blend your own stewed/crushed tomatoes in a food processor)
1/2 cup of cream cheese
1 cup of low fat plain organic yogurt (are you surprised???) :)
1 TBSP onion powder
2/3 cup green onions
2/3 cup shredded cheddar/jack cheese

***And before you wonder how something that contains cream cheese and shredded cheddar can be healthy, think about this. You are going to eat one serving of this dish (which is definitely filling), which means you will only be eating 1/6 of the entire pie. 1/6 of 2/3 of a cup of shredded cheese isn't much (it's 1/9 of a cup to be exact). You will also only be eating 1/12 a cup of cream cheese in your serving. That is miniscule. Sure, you can use low fat cream cheese and low fat cheese, but I generally prefer not to (especially for the cheese; lowfat cheese is NOT the same). Stick to the serving size and you'll be full, happy, and healthy. :) ***


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the turkey and drain the grease (you may not have to drain any grease if the turkey is lean enough). Pour in the jar of marinara, and simmer on low for 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Cook the spaghetti according to the package, which should be pretty quick since you are using thin spaghetti. Drain and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, blend the cream cheese, yogurt, onion powder, and chopped green onions.

Pour the cooked pasta into a greased (100% canola oil spray) baking dish (I used a piece of Polish pottery that is slightly larger, but you can use an 8x8 glass dish). Using a spatula, pour and smooth the yogurt mixture over the pasta. For the third layer, you will pour the ground turkey mixture over the yogurt mixture. Finally, sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the top. Place the baking dish in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.


Pull it out of the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes, then serve with a side salad.



This recipe yields six servings.