Resolution Helper!

my layering stations all set up

what the first layer looked like

This is my healthy version of lasagna. I use part skim cheese products, but whole milk cheeses could be used instead. Also, I use chicken sausage, and I add spinach. The whole wheat lasagna noodles are somewhat hard to come by, I only found one brand – Ronzoni healthy harvest. This batch made 3 rows 3 noodles high (because I have a shallow dish). It can be made higher though, or doubled to feed 8 people.

I remember watching my mom make lasagna when I was a child, and she would boil all of the noodles at once, drain them into a colander, and then proceed with the layering. Many of the noodles would stick and tear, which was great for us because she would give us the broken noodles, but I have found my method to work really well by only making the noodles one layer at a time. I cook the noodles to al dente so they don’t get too soggy and they also suck in the sauce so the lasagna isn’t watery.

This meal can be made a day or two ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator, or it can be frozen.

Chicken Sausage and Spinach Lasagna

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp. penzeys Italian seasoning blend
1 6 oz. can tomato paste, Italian style
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
10 basil leaves, torn
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
3 links chicken sausage (recommended spinach and asiago from Sam’s club)
8 oz. part skim ricotta
8 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
1 egg
2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella

First make the sauce: Heat skillet to medium, add olive oil, onion and garlic. Sautee for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add seasoning, salt and pepper, tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. Cover and simmer while you prepare the other elements.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt heavily.

Sausage: The sausage I use are precooked, but I like to brown them. Add ¼” of water to a skillet and a drizzle of olive oil over the sausage. Cook on high until water evaporates, sausage will begin to brown, flip over to brown all sides. Remove from pan and put on a plastic cutting board to cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, egg, ½ cup mozzarella and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Drop 3 noodles into the pot (if you’re making a lasagna with 3 rows). Cook for 5-6 minutes.

Tear basil leaves into sauce and turn heat off.

Ladle some sauce to coat the bottom of a baking dish.

Slice sausage links into 12 pieces each (if making 3 rows)

Remove noodles from water with tongs and line the dish, drop in 3 more.

Spread ricotta mixture over each noodle row, top each row with 4 sausages, a sprinkle of cheese, and some marinara.

Add next layer of noodles and repeat.

Add 3^rd layer of noodles, top with ricotta, sausage, and sauce first, then the remainder of the cheese.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes if you bake it off right away, and 1 hour if it’s been refrigerated.