Luscious Lasagna Bake Redux

Adventures in Italy

I took another pass at the recipe for Luscious Lasagna Bake.  My goal was to make it lower in fat and easier to prepare, and contain all the protein and vegetable servings for a full Lean and Green meal.  With a few minor tweaks, I came up with something that had my vegetable-hating preschooler begging me to make it again.  The additional spinach and mushrooms really lend great flavor to the meat sauce.

First, I took the sausage out of the recipe.  The Jennie-O Italian turkey sausage isn't that good, and adds a lot of fat.  Then I subbed out the ricotta with 1% lowfat cottage cheese, mostly because I didn't have any ricotta on hand.  But it had the benefit of reducing fat and calories, and made very little taste difference.  Then I reduced the cheese in the topping to 1/2 cup.  Didn't miss it at all in the final product. 

Beppo's Skinny Sister's Marinara

2 14 oz cans petite diced tomatoes (7 greens)
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic (1 1/2 condiments)
1 1/2 tsp onion powder (3 condiments)
3 tbsp fresh basil (3/32 condiment)

Combine tomatoes with garlic and onion powder in saucepan and cook over low heat for at least 30 minutes, stirring often, until sauce thickens. After the tomatoes cook down and soften, you may mash with a potato masher or puree in food processor if you like a smoother texture. Remove from heat and add basil.

Meat Filling

10 oz lean ground beef, cooked - about 1/2 lb raw (2 leans)
2 cups raw spinach, chopped (2 greens)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (3 greens)

Add beef, sausage, and spinach to marinara and cook until spinach is wilted.  TIP:  Mash the ground beef with a potato masher as it cooks to create a fine, even texture.

Cheese Topping

1/2 cup 1% lowfat cottage cheese (1/3 lean)
1/2 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded (1/2 lean)
4 tbsp parmesan cheese (4 condiments)
2 tbsp EggBeaters (1/8 lean)
1 tsp Italian seasoning (2 condiments)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (1 condiment)

Blend cottage cheese until smooth, if desired.  Combine cheese topping ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Additional Ingredients

3/4 cups reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded (3/4 lean)

Instructions

Put meat filling in bottom of 8 by 8 baking dish. Cover with cheese topping. Top with additional mozzarella. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Serves 4
Per serving, 1 lean, 3 greens, 3 condiments
328 calories, 14.1 g fat, 11.4 g carbohydrates, 301 g fiber, 40.9 g protein, 538 mg sodium