Spicy Lasagna

Spicy Lasagna 

Nonstick cooking spray

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound lean ground turkey

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or whole-wheat flour

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

1/2 cup sweet potato puree (optional)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 (26-ounce) or 2 (15-ounce) cans whole or diced, peeled tomatoes, with their juice

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup lowfat (1%) cottage cheese

1 large egg white

1 (8-ounce) box of lasagna noodles (boiled and ready to use)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Red pepper flakes, sprinkled on top of finished lasagna

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat an 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. For the meat filling, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat.  When the pan is hot, add the oil.  Add the turkey, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.  Sprinkle in the flour and half of the garlic, stir, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer.  Off the heat, stir in the sour cream, sweet potato puree, and half (1/4 cup) of the Parmesan; set aside.

3. For the sauce, combine the tomatoes and juice, the onion, and the remaining garlic and Parmesan (1/4 cup) in the food processor or blender and process until smooth.  Transfer the sauce to a bowl or large measuring cup.

4. In the same blender or food processor, blend the cottage cheese and egg white until smooth; set aside.

5. To assemble the lasagna, spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom of the baking dish.  Layer about one-third of the noodles on top, covering the sauce completely.  Spread the meat filling over them.  (If you desire to go meatless, just add a first layer of cottage cheese.)  Cover with another one-third of the noodles and then spread all of the cottage cheese mixture over them.  Make another layer with the rest of the noodles and spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the top.  Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese.

6. Cover the lasgna with aluminum foil and bake until the cheese has melted and the noodles are cooked through, about 40 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the top is bubbly and browned.  Sprinkle on top of lasagna your desired amount of red pepper flakes.

(Recipe originally from the cookbook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld but I made a few modifications.)

We took the pictures before added our red pepper flakes on top.  The red pepper flakes gave the lasagna a great burst of flavor.  The sweet potato puree is not needed for the recipe to turn out good, it is there to sneak in a vegetable that your kids will not taste or notice it being there.  Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook is designed with recipes to get your kids eating good food.