Healthified Lasagna

This recipe looks very similar to other lasagna’s but I was amazed at the calorie/fat count when you just changed to a leaner meat, light cheese & 1 egg instead of 2.   Hopefully the replacement will make this just as yummy as the original.

Healthified Lasagna

~eatbetteramerica.com

9 uncooked lasagna noodles

1 lb extra-lean (at least 90%) ground beef

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 jar Muir Glen organic Italian herb pasta sauce

1/8 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)

1 ½ tsp dried basil leaves

1 egg

1 container (15 oz.) reduced-fat ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese (8 oz.)

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

·         Spray 13X9 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.  Cook & drain noodles as directed on package Place in cold water.

·         In 12-inch skillet, cook beef & garlic over medium-high 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.  Stir in pasta sauce, ground red pepper & 1 tsp of basil.  Heat to a boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat

·         Heat oven to 350F.  In medium bowl, beat egg slightly.  Stir in ricotta cheese & remaining ½ tsp basil until blended.  Drain noodles. Spread about ½ cup sauce mixture over bottom of baking dish.  Top with 3 noodles, 1 ½ cups of the sauce mixture, half of the ricotta mixture & ¾ cup of the mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers once.  Top with remaining noodles, sauce & mozzarella cheese; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Spray 15-inch piece of foil with cooking spray.  Cover lasagna with foil.

·         Bake 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 – 15minutes longer or until bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Tupps Tidbits ~  I used home made sauce

At first glance you could already see of difference with no meat/cheese dripping grease on your plate.  But as they say – Eat Better America - and we did!  We added some extra peppers & used our own pasta sauce & this ended up being a delicious dish we both enjoyed. A little bit of a spin on a classic Italian favorite & it definitely lost the fat but not the flavor. (I forgot the shredded mozzarella cheese in the ingredient picture but we did use it.)   KEEPER!