Lasagna

Posted on | December 7, 2009 | No Comments

I hadn’t made this in a while and I was really glad I got some veggies in without the boys complaining. It’s all about the sauce! Hehe.

Saute:

1 pkg. ground turkey
1 sweet onion (it was all I had, I’d use regular yellow onion next time)
5 or 6 or a dozen cloves of garlic
Salt & pepper

After the turkey is no longer pink, add:
8 oz. mushrooms, minced (food processor)
1 c. bell peppers cut in tiny cubes (again, food processor)

Just saute until the mushrooms and peppers are warmed.

Put all of the above in the crock pot and add these guys to the mix:
1 shredded zucchini
2 cans petite diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 tiny can (3 or 4 oz?) tomato paste (my sauce was watery so I double the amount if you like thicker sauce but not if you don’t cook the noodles)
1 tbs. fennel seeds, toasted in a pan on the stove until fragrant
basil and oregano, as much as you can handle
2 tbs. brown sugar

I’m sure I could have gotten away with finely shredded tomatoes and yellow crooked-necked squash if I had them.

Cook in the crock pot for 4 hours.

Cook 12 lasagna noodles. While the noodles cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

While the noodles are cooling, mix:

16 oz. ricotta cheese
2 tbs. parsley, minced (I had some in the freezer from thanksgiving)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Make sure you shred 8 oz. of mozzarella and have some parmesan on hand, about 1/4 c. or more if you prefer.

In the bottom of the pan, spread about 1 c. of the sauce. Top with 4 noodles, 1/2 of the ricotta and 1/2 of the parmesan. Add another layer of noodles, the rest of the ricotta and half the mozzarella and more sauce. Layer on the remaining 4 noodles, sauce and the rest of the cheese, making sure you leave no noodle uncovered.

Bake until bubbly and the cheese is nicely browned, about 35 minutes or so. You can also try adding a layer of shredded spinach in the middle. You can call it “spice” and sometimes get away with it. But I suspect my attempts to “get away with it” are pretty transparent.

Category: Foodie Stuff
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