Ravioli Lasagna

What a delicious recipe! Found this from Rachel Ray & it feeds a ton of people!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp parsley
2 tbsp basil
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 cup beef broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp allspice
salt & pepper
1 cup red wine
6 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp bay leaves
1/2 cup carrot, grated
1/2 cup onion, diced
3/4 pound, ground turkey
3/4 pound, ground beef
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
16 oz. provolone cheese, shredded (I used slices)
3 large bags of frozen cheese raviolis


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Cook raviolis according to package directions. Be sure to add salt & separate the raviolis after you drain them so that they don't stick together.
Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan cook turkey & beef with olive oil. 
Rachel Ray recommends that you brown the meat to extra crispy to give it extra flavor and I would support her advice.
Add onion, carrots, garlic, & bay leaves.
Cook for about 5 minutes. 
Season with salt, black pepper, and allspice.
Add Worcestershire sauce & beef broth.
Bring to a boil.
Add tomatoes & tomato sauce.
Cook for 15 minutes (give or take) until sauce thickens. 
Add parsley & basil then remove from heat shortly after.
In a baking dish add 1 cup of the meat sauce.
Then line with 1 layer of the raviolis.
Repeat two more times, then top with cheese and bread crumbs (optional).


What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Puerto Rican Lasagna)

Our friend Mari introduced us to this several months ago and I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to try it out for myself. Pastelón, which is a Puerto Rican Lasagna, is just like lasagna but instead of lasagna pasta noodles you used slices of plantain. It has a mix of all these neat flavors, it's incredibly filling, and the sweet plantains are amazing. I'm sure there are many versions of this, but the one I used includes raisins and olives. I'm sure you can leave them out or just use a little. It's also not the healthiest thing I've ever made. But it is delicious, no doubt about it!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or just use cilantro paste like I do)

2 tsp adobo (in the international/ethnic food aisle or spice aisle)

2 tsp italian seasoning
2 tbsp vinegar

1 envelope Sazón (in the international/ethnic food aisle)

2 tsp of bay leaves

8 green stuff olives, cut in half

1/2 cup raisins

4 or 5 plantains, peeled & cut into long strips (For really great directions on pictures on plantains, go here. I could try to explain it to you, but it won't be pretty.)

1/2 cup tomato sauce

3 eggs

2 tbsp milk

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

vegetable oil

salt
butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Mix ground beef, garlic, onion, green pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl. 

Then mix in adobo, italian seasoning, vinegar, & Sazon.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tbs of olive oil. 

Toss in the beef mixture and cook until brown.

Add bay leaves, olives, raisins, & tomato sauce. 

Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, heat another large skillet with oil, on medium heat, just enough to cover the bottom. 

Fry the plantains, a while on each side, until they are golden brown & crispy.

Butter the sides & bottom of an 8 x 13 baking dish.

Layer the bottom most layer with plantains.

Spread a layer of ground beef on top of the layer of plantains. 

Top with a layer of mozzarella cheese and another layer of plantains. 

Continue the process, ending with plantains.

Mix eggs & milk in small bowl. Pour evenly over the last layer. Let it soak in and then sprinkle with a last little bit of cheese. 
Bake in oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
ENJOY!!!!

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Beef Taco Lasagna

This gem is from Freezer Pleasers! I made it for my mother-in-law and family for her Birthday. (I love any excuse to cook). I love tacos and I love lasagna so you know that taco lasagna is going to be a hit in this household. It turned out great. I would totally make this if I were you. Are you planning on bringing a meal over to a friend or having people over for dinner? This is the perfect dish! You'll love it!


Ingredients:
12 lasagna noodles
1 pound extra lean ground beef
1 envelope of taco seasoning or approximately 3 to 4 tablespoons
2 egg whites
1.5 cups of fat free cottage cheese
1/2 cup of fat free cream cheese (or you can use additional cottage cheese)
1 to 2 cups of reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
24 oz. of canned diced tomatoes or a jar of salsa (or some combination)


Directions:
Cook noodles according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat.
Stir in taco seasoning.
In a small bowl, combine egg whites, cottage cheese, and cream cheese. Mix well together.
Drain noodles and separate on a wax paper, if needed.
In a lasagna pan layer 3 noodles.
Then top with 1/3 of the egg/cheese mixture.
Then top with 1/3 of the beef mixture.
Then top with 1/3 of tomatoes/salsa.
Then top with 1/3 of the shredded cheese.
Repeat with lasagna noodles, egg/cheese, beef, tomatoes/salsa, and shredded cheddar cheese. 
Repeat one more time. Top with remaining noodles.
Top with any remaining cheese or tomatoes. 
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for a little bit before cutting.


You can double this recipe to make two lasagna pans. I froze mine. To eat from frozen, thaw in fridge for 8 hours. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Then cook as directed. Cook longer if needed.

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Eggplant & Zucchini Lasagna

I've been on a big lasagna kick lately. But it's hard to cut out the fat & calories. So instead of using any meat I've been trying different vegetables out and was excited when I realized I could give eggplant a try. I had two eggplants and three zucchinis. You don't need that many, but I put aside some of the leftover vegetables to eat as a snack. You might want to use less vegetables. Also, I keep the skins on the vegetables to save time, but you can feel free to peel the eggplant & zucchini and cut into smaller pieces.



To make this recipe healthier I use Light Ragu instead of another type of pasta/tomato sauce. I also use fat free cottage cheese instead of ricotta. I know my true Italian friends are gasping everywhere, but sometimes these sacrifices need to be made. This was a big dish and I was able to make 3 lasagna layers because I had so many veggies! I think this recipe could use some improvement so I'm open to any suggestions. It's easy to make it taste better by adding more cheese, but I'm trying to avoid that. For starters, I only used 1 jar of Light Ragu. I would recommend using maybe two. I also like making lasagna with diced tomatoes. You can use fresh tomatoes or diced tomatoes from a can. I would recommend doing that for this recipe even though I didn't. Also try using Parmesan cheese on the top layer.


When I had dinner with my in-laws this weekend I needed to have enough food to feed the 7 of us. I didn't think one lasagna was enough. So I brought this along with the taco lasagna. 

Ingredients:
12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium eggplant, chopped
2 medium zucchinis, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups spaghetti sauce (I used light ragu)
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup water
2 cups fat free cottage cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook pasta according to box directions.Chop eggplant, onions, & zucchini.
Heat oil in large saucepan and add vegetables. 
Saute until tender.
Stir in pasta sauce, water, and parsley.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, drain noodles, separate and place on parchment paper to avoid sticking together. 
Arrange 3 pasta pieces on bottom of greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish.
Spread 1/2 cottage cheese over noodles. 
Spread 1/3 sauce mixture over cheese.

Top with 3 more noodles.
Repeat.
Top with final 3 noodles. 
Spread mozzarella cheese & parmesan cheese on the top.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until hot and bubbly. 
Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.
 
I would love to know that you visited my blog or tried out a recipe. Leave me some love & encouragement!

Spinach Lasagna

You can really take the fat/calories out of lasagna by switching up your ingredients. Try cottage cheese instead of ricotta (I know, I know real Italians are cussing at me everywhere), use vegetables instead of meat, cut down on the cheese, use whole wheat pasta, try fresh tomatoes, and use low fat cheeses. This recipe calls for fat-free cream cheese rather than doing other types of cheese. I thought that was something different so I gave it a try. It turned out really well. When some of the girls came over to make cake pops with me we I had this for dinner. 


This was inspired by the Tomato-Basil Lasagna with Prosciutto recipe that I found here. But I made it differently and then adapted it some more so I could freeze it. See directions below and how to cook after freezing it for up to 2 months. 


Ingredients:
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 carton 1% low-fat cottage cheese
4 oz. fat-free cream cheese
1/4 cup grated pecorina romano cheese
2.5 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1 large egg
1 jar of low fat pasta sauce (I used Ragu)
cooking spray
12 lasagna noodles (I use Ronzoni Healthy Harvest)
1 to 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 packages of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, drained, dried out, and mashed with a fork. 
1/2 cup of reduced fat parmesan cheese


Directions:
Cook lasagna noodles according to box instructions. Separate on wax paper when finished cooking and draining. 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix garlic and cottage cheese together.
Make sure cream cheese is soft and at room temperature. Use microwave if needed.
Mix in cream cheese, pecorina romano, basil, pepper, and egg. Mix well. 
Spread 1/2 cup of pasta sauce on the bottom of a greased/sprayed 13x9 baking dish. 
Arrange 3 noodles on the bottom. 
On top of the noodles spread with 1/3 of the cheese mixture. 
Top with 1/3 of the spinach mixture.
Top with 1/2 cup of pasta sauce.
Repeat with noodles, cheese, spinach, & pasta sauce. 
Repeat with noodles, cheese, spinach, then noodles again. 
Pour remaining pasta sauce over noodles. 
Top with parmesan and mozzarella cheese. 
Bake in oven, covered, for 45 minutes. Bake for an additional 15 minutes uncovered.


Or...if you want to freeze it, don't bake it now. Cover it with foil, plastic wrap, or casserole dish lid. Place in freezer for up to 2 months. 


The night before defrost in the fridge. Take it out 30 minutes before you are ready to cook. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a little bit of water in the bottom of the dish so that noodles don't dry out. But not too much water. Cook in oven for about an hour and a half, covered. Optional-top with additional mozzarella cheese and bake for an additional 15 minutes uncovered. 





What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Pepperoni & Veggie Lasagna

(Note this makes two lasagna pans, if you just want one, cut recipe in half)

Ingredients: 

• 18 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1 egg
• 3 egg whites
• 1 15 oz. can of fat free ricotta cheese (you may want more, but I prefer less)
• 4 teaspoons parsley flakes
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 medium size tomatoes, diced or cans of diced tomatoes
• 4 to 8 cups of spaghetti sauce (I used light Ragu & I used 5 cups)
• 4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 16 oz. cans of shredded green beans (you can use fresh or frozen)
• 1 package of turkey pepperoni
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• Fat free cooking spray 

Directions:

1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package (do not break). 
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk the eggs, egg whites, ricotta cheese, parsley, basil, oregano, & pepper. Set aside.
3. Layer each with 1/4 of the ricotta mixture, diced tomatoes, 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
4. Then add additional three lasagna noodles to each, and top each with 1 can of green beans.
5. Top with 15 to 20 pepperoni slices, remaining ricotta mixture, additional spaghetti sauce, remaining lasagna noodles.
6. Top with mozzarella cheese & parmesan cheese.
7. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

Question for you...what type of veggies do you add to your lasagna???

I would love to know that you visited my blog or tried out a recipe. Leave me some love & encouragement!