lasagne

If any of you eat lasagne at a restaurant, I hope you know you're ingesting at least 1500 calories. However, I do know that many of you care more about the authenticity of the dish as opposed to the caloric content. On the other hand, if you read this blog, you're reading because you want healthier versions of food than the ones you are currently eating, for the most part. Anyway, I really enjoyed this meal. I'm not a huge fan of lasagne, but my hubby likes it so I wanted to change things up and make it for him.

Ingredients:
GF brown rice lasagne noodles, about 14 oz box
1 pkg of grass-fed ground beef
1 28 oz can of tomato puree/sauce
4 garlic cloves, at least, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
big handful of spinach, fresh
1 onion, chopped
mushrooms and whatever else you want in the dish
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 T chopped basil
salt
pepper
red pepper
1 small carton reduced fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 small bag mozzarella cheese, part skim

For the sauce:
Brown the meat and drain the fat, if any. Add garlic and all veggies and saute until onions are clear. Add the tomato sauce and herbs, salt and pepper.

For the cheese:
Whisk the ricotta cheese and the egg along with a pinch of pepper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil the pasta according to directions. Layer sauce on bottom of 13x9 inch glassware, thinly. Layer noodles. Layer ricotta cheese, then sauce, then mozzarella. Continue in this order, finishing with mozzarella cheese. Spray aluminum foil with zero fat cooking spray and cover the dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes.

I seriously completely winged this recipe. I have never made lasagne before, but I've eaten it before and I definitely liked this dish. So, if you have some kind of disagreement with the preparation because it's not the way Italians do it or whatever, just remember my goal is to make a healthy meal, not to make an authentic Italian dish. :)