Today's Tip: Healthy Meat Lasagna

I made this lasagna a couple of nights ago and let me just say there were no leftovers.  I actually doubled the recipe and put the other pan in the freezer for another day. Now since I have never had much luck with making eggplant please our taste buds, we opted for the shredded zucchini in place of the eggplant.  Shredding the zucchini is a great way to sneak in a vegetable for kiddos who aren't big fans :).  I also served the lasagna on top of fresh spinach for those who wanted it (that would have been John and me but hey, I offered!).

 

Healthy Meat Lasagna

 

Ingredients

• 6 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 4 ounces total), broken in half
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small eggplant (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces OR 1 medium zucchini, shredded
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Coarse sea salt and ground pepper
• 1 lb. 97% lean ground beef
• 1 can (10.75 ounces) tomato puree*
• 1 pint 1% cottage cheese (2 cups)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan (1 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella (2 ounces)

Directions

1. Step 1

   Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place noodles in an 8-by-8-inch baking dish, and cover with hot tap water; set aside to soften.

2. Step 2

   In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat 2 tsp oil over medium-high. Add ground beef and brown until no longer pink.  Drain and set aside.  Heat remaining oil in pot and add onion, eggplant or zucchini, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add ground beef, tomato puree, and cook until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Season meat sauce with salt and pepper.

3. Step 3

   Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Remove noodles from baking dish, discarding water.

4. Step 4

   Spread about 1/4 cup meat sauce in bottom of dish, and top with 4 noodle halves. Layer with 1/3 cheese mixture, then 1/3 sauce. Repeat twice with remaining noodles, cheese mixture, and sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake until lasagna is bubbling and cheese topping is golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
   
   
   *I didn't have tomato puree so I pureed one can of canned tomatoes in a blender.