Lasagna Tuesday

I never would have thought that I would have a night where I made two lasagnas.  To think that a year ago, I thought that I hated lasagna.  Come to find out, I just hate ground beef.  The lasagna itself is a wonderful invention: noodles, cheese, and sauce!  The options are endless, and tonight is an example of that.

my lasagna with Mark's arugula caprese!

Remember how I roasted my own spaghetti squash the other night?  Today I decided it was time to make it work for me.  There are so many options for spaghetti squash, but I was intrigued by the recipe that turns it into a lasagna!  There are no noodles in this lasagna, obviously - the squash takes its place - but the rest is very lasagna-ish: ricotta, marinara sauce, and mozzarella and Parmesan cheese!  It was very fast to throw together since the squash was already roasted.  I just had to toss it all in a casserole dish: sauce, then squash, then cheeses, more sauce, and more cheeses!  It sounds really unhealthy but I got the recipe from Skinny Taste!  Only 358 calories per serving!  And it certainly does not taste healthy; Mark was moaning about eating a fattening casserole until I informed him that I got the recipe from a low-fat blog! :)  One change I made to the recipe was that it called for you to make 4 mini lasagnas; I just put it all in one dish.  That worked just fine.  The outcome is delicious; all the mushy sauce and cheeses mix together with the crunchy "noodles" of squash; it makes for a really fun texture!  Tucky - I thought you could probably eat this!  And even my mom and Mark liked this lasagna.  Mom kept giggling and saying the squash was "funny" but she loved it :)

Then, since I had my doubts that my family would eat squash lasagna (my doubts were shockingly wrong, but who could have expected that!?) I decided to make another lasagna.  When I scrolled through my blog to see if there was anything worth repeating, I stumbled upon the lotsa green lasagna.  I was reminded how I made it one night when it was just Mom and me, and we devoured almost the entire thing ourselves!  I knew it would be a good meal to make for Mom, me and Marky tonight.  It's a lasagna, but really only because you use lasagna noodles. Everything else is very different!  There are layers of cheese, but the cheeses are mostly cottage cheese, with some mozzarella, Parmesan and goat cheese.  There is a white sauce mixed with spinach, and sauteed carrots, scallions and broccoli. Doesn't sound like your everyday lasagna, now does it?  And this is soooo good.  The cheesy layers are the perfect companion with the tender vegetables, and anything with goat cheese is a must-eat.  Mom says this is one of her favorites, and Mark had seconds.  I highly recommend this lotsa green lasagna any time you want a healthy but decadent vegetarian casserole :)  102 calories per serving - it feels like cheating!

Recipes:
spaghetti squash lasagna

 Lotsa Green Lasagna
adapted from Meatless Mondays

Ingredients:
6-8 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 teaspoon olive oil
Cooking spray
1-1/4 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1-1/2 minced garlic cloves
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 oz chopped spinach
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup low fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup low fat goat cheese

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil lasagna noodles according to the directions on the box.

2. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan or skillet over high heat. Sauté carrots, scallions, garlic and broccoli in olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until tender, and set aside.

3. Combine mozzarella, goat and cottage cheeses in a bowl. Mix and set aside.

4. In a saucepan melt butter over medium heat, then whisk in flour. When thoroughly mixed, add milk and whisk until well blended. Turn heat up to high, cover and heat until boiling.

5. Uncover and stir constantly over high heat for about 5 minutes, or until mixture is thick.

6. When mixture is thick, take off heat and season with pepper and add 1/8 cup of Parmesan. Stir until smooth and mix in the spinach. Set aside 1/2 cup to use for the top layer of the lasagna.

7. Spray a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup of the spinach mixture on the bottom. Next, then lay 2-3 lasagna noodles over the spinach mixture (you may need to cut noodles to fit the pan).

8. Pour half the cheese mixture followed by half of the remaining spinach mixture over the noodle layer.

9. Spread half the carrot-scallion-broccoli mixture over that, then add another layer of noodles.

10. Pour rest of the cheese mixture followed by the rest of the remaining spinach mixture on top of the noodles.

11. Spread the rest of the carrot-scallion-broccoli mixture over that, then top with a layer of noodles.

12. Spread the reserved 1/2 cup of the spinach mixture over the noodles and sprinkle with 1/8 cup parmesan cheese.

13. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.