Lasagna

If you love lasagna as much as I do, today's post is for you. Try out the Mexican Lasagna or Slow Cooker Lasagna, then go from there. Enjoy!

QUICK, HIGH-PROTEIN VEGGIE LASAGNA

This recipe is from Vegetarian Times, and was posted on their website on January 2, 2005. It begins, “This easy-to-follow recipe provides you with 21 grams of protein per serving, thanks to the soy "steak" strips. The lasagna can be assembled quickly since you don't have to cook the pasta first. Excerpted from Diet Simple by Katherine Tallmadge.” Makes 10 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. minced garlic

12 oz. soy "steak" strips

1/2 lb. eggplant, cubed

1 ripe tomato, cubed

1 zucchini, diced

2 1/2 cups marinara sauce

2 tsp. dried oregano, or to taste

1 9-oz. pkg. oven-ready lasagna sheets

2 cups low-fat ricotta cheese

2 cups low-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray nonstick 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, and brown garlic 2 to 3 minutes. Add soy strips, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggplant, tomato, zucchini and 1 cup of marinara sauce; cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in oregano, salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, place 6 sheets of lasagna in bottom of pan, overlapping as needed to fill gaps. Spoon in eggplant mixture, and top with layer of ricotta cheese. Place remaining lasagna strips over ricotta, and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Spread remaining marinara sauce on top, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and cover pan tightly with foil. Bake 30 to 45 minutes, or until top layer of pasta is soft. Remove and serve.

MEXICAN LASAGNA

This is from tbsp. (Tablespoon.com), and begins, “A delicious twist on lasagna!”

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes; Servings: 10

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

6-8 large tortillas

1 lb ground beef

1 packet Old El Paso™ taco seasoning mix

1/3 medium onion, diced

1 can (19 oz) Old El Paso™ mild red enchilada sauce

1 can (16 oz) Old El Paso™ refried beans, any type

1 1/2 cup cheddar or mexican blend cheese

3 small or medium tomatoes, diced

Cilantro, as desired

Black olives, as desired

Sour cream, for topping

Shredded lettuce, for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large non-stick skillet on stove, cook onions and beef until cooked through. Remove skillet from heat, drain off grease and stir in taco seasoning. Set aside.

Cover the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish with a thin coat of enchilada sauce. Layer tortilla halves in the bottom of the pan with the cut (straight) sides facing outward toward edges of pan. Cut pieces of another tortilla as needed to fill in any gaps and create a solid tortilla layer in the bottom of the pan.

Continue layering ingredients in the following order, making sure to save enough of each ingredient to form a second layer: refried beans, enchilada sauce, beef and onion mixture, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, and chopped cilantro and black olives (if desired).

Using equal amounts of ingredients as the first layer, form your second layer in the following order: tortillas, beans, enchilada sauce, meat and onions, cheese, tomatoes, cilantro and olives.

Top with a final layer of tortillas, and cover with a thin coating of enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake lasagna for 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted and tortillas start to crisp. Serve with sour cream, lettuce and additional toppings as desired.

EASY SLOW-COOKER LASAGNA

This is from tbsp. (Tablespoon.com), and begins, “This lasagna tastes like you spent all day making it, without all of the work.”

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes; Servings: 10

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup diced white onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 jar (25.5 oz) Muir Glen™ Organic Pasta Sauce

1/2 cup water

1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

2 tablespoons fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley

6 uncooked lasagna noodles

Directions

In a large skillet, brown beef and onion. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Drain.

Add spaghetti sauce and water to skillet and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, egg and parsley.

Pour 1 cup of spaghetti meat sauce into a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Place half of the noodles and half of the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles (if the noodles don't fit exactly, break them to fit), cheese mixture and meat sauce.

Cook on LOW for 4-5 hours or until noodles are soft, being careful not to overcook. (Don't try to speed up the process by cooking on high.) Sprinkle 1/2 cup of mozzarella and remaining Parmesan on top. Cover with the lid to melt the cheese and allow to sit 10 minutes before serving.

VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

I’d been making lasagna for years, using a favorite cookbook. One time, my oldest son took the same recipe, and replaced the meat with eggplant. His came out tasting better than when I made it.

I tried recreating the eggplant version, but it never quite came out the same. So, I ended up changing the recipe drastically, changing ingredients and amounts. The funny thing is that, while I use one or two packages of tofu crumbles instead of meat, it tastes enough like meat to fool several non-vegetarians. One person, after eating this, even looked at me aghast, asking, “What are you, some kind of vegetarian?” Never heard from him again.

Ingredients

Tomato sauce:

2 – 3 onions, chopped

3 – 5 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz. can tomatoes

2 – 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

2 – 6 oz. cans tomato paste

2 T oil

1 T oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. dill

1 tsp. anise

1 or 2 – 10 oz. package tofu crumbles

Cheese layer:

2 C sour cream

2 C cottage cheese

2 eggs

4 C mozzarella, grated

2 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 C Parmesan cheese

Directions

Brown onions & garlic in oil. Add remaining ingredients, stir well, simmer for 1 hour. While sauce is cooking, in a separate pot, cook 16 oz. lasagna noodles

Make cheese layer:

Mix ingredients together in large bowl.

Assemble:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In 9” X 13” pan, place half the cooked lasagna noodles length-wise. Top with half the cheese mixture, then half the tomato sauce. Repeat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before cutting, as it tends to be a little runny when it first comes out of the oven. Serve with a salad and a loaf of hot Italian bread. Very yummy.

SLOW COOKER LASAGNA

This was posted on Pure Wow, and is from Ali, whose blog, GimmeSomeOven, is absolutely fantastic! If you’ve never checked it out, you really should. Go ahead, I’ll wait. (Tap, tap, tap…)

Okay, so Ali starts this recipe off with, “This Slow Cooker Lasagna recipe is easy to make and customize with your favorite ingredients in the crock pot!”

Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes; Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 4 hours; Yield: 10 - 12 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/slow-cooker-lasgana-recipe/print/.

Ingredients

1 pound ground Italian sausage (I used spicy) or ground beef*

2 (24-ounce) jars of good-quality Italian pasta sauce**

16 uncooked no-boil lasagna noodles

32 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach

1/4 cup finely-chopped fresh basil

Directions

Add the ground Italian sausage (or ground beef) to a large saute pan, and cook over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through, using a large spoon to stir and break up the meet into small crumbles as it cooks. Remove from heat and drain off any excess grease. Set aside.

Meanwhile, as the meat is cooking, go ahead and get ready to assemble the lasagna. Begin by spraying the insert of a large 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Then layer the ingredients in the following order:

Spread 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce evenly along the bottom of the slow cooker.

Layer about 4 lasagna noodles — breaking them into smaller pieces as needed to fit — evenly over the sauce to cover the bottom of the slow cooker.

Layer about 1/3 of the ricotta cheese (a little over 1 cup) evenly on top of the noodles. (I found it was easiest to do this in small spoonfuls, and then spread them out with a spatula. It’s totally ok if it’s messy and uneven!)

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the shredded Mozzarella cheese and 2 Tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese in an even layer on top of the ricotta.

Layer about 1/3 of the cooked ground meat in an even layer on top of the cheeses.

Layer about 1/3 of the chopped spinach in an even layer on top of the ground meat.

Layer 1 cup of pasta sauce in an even layer on top of the spinach.

Repeat with another layer of noodles, ricotta, Mozzarella/Parmesan, ground meat, spinach, and sauce. Then repeat with another layer of noodles, ricotta, Mozzarella/Parmesan, ground meat, spinach, and sauce. Then add one more layer of noodles, sauce, and Mozzarella.

Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours, or until the noodles are tender.

Turn off the heat, and sprinkle the top of the lasagna evenly with the remaining Parmesan and fresh basil. Serve immediately. (Or if you let the lasagna sit and rest for 30 minutes, it will cut into pieces much more easily.)

BUDGET-FRIENDLY PASTITSIO (GREEK LASAGNA)

This is from Diabetes Food Hub, and begins, “This version of Greek Lasagna is a great family meal that pairs well with a green salad topped with a little feta cheese and light Greek salad dressing.”

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Servings: 12; Serving Size: 1 slice

View this online at https://www.diabetesfoodhub.org/recipes/budget-friendly-pastitsio-greek-lasagna.html.

Ingredients

1 spray Nonstick cooking spray

1 medium onion (diced)

20 oz lean ground turkey (93% fat-free)

2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground oregano

1/2 tsp salt (optional)

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 can tomato sauce (15 ounce, low-sodium)

1 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)

1 lbs brown rice or quinoa penne pasta (or whole wheat penne pasta)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

2 cups skim milk

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)

1 egg

Time: 20 minutes; Servings: 8

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking sheet with cooking spray. Set aside.

Add cooking spray to a large nonstick sauté pan. Sauté onions for 4-5 minutes or until translucent. Add in ground turkey and sauté for 8-10 minutes, or until turkey is cooked through.

Add cinnamon, oregano, salt (optional), ground black pepper, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer for 5-7 minutes or until just starting to thicken.

Stir in parsley and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt. Drain and stir immediately into turkey mixture. Pour the pasta and turkey mixture into the baking sheet and press down so it is evenly spread in the pan.

Add the olive oil to a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook the flour for 1-2 minutes, taking care not to brown it. Stir constantly.

Slowly whisk in the skim milk and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Whisk in the nutmeg and parmesan cheese.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and then slowly whisk in the hot milk mixture to temper the egg. Add the rest of the milk mixture to the egg and then pour over the top of the pasta, spreading to coat the entire thing.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly and top is golden brown.