Lasagna

 Lasagna with Italian Herb Ground Turkey 

Lasagna is one of those feel good flavorful dishes that is always a crowd pleaser. FYI this is not the healthiest dish nor is it the healthiest lasagna recipe you'll ever read but it is delicious and that's all I really had in mind when preparing this dish :D. I did sub the ground beef for ground turkey to make it a little lighter, I also really enjoy the ground turkey flavor in this dish, I feel that it flatters the herbs and spices more than ground beef does, but either way would work.

I used fresh mozzarella which is a lighter-ish cheese than others, along with part skim ricotta cheese, and a shredded cheese blend as well. The marinara sauce is made with spinach, olive oil, basil, oregano, and garlic, and the pasta sheets I used are barilla flat lasagna sheets.

Nutrition for one serving: 

450 Calories 

20g Fat

300mg Sodium

32g Protein 

27g Carbohydrates

Ingredients: 

1 Box Flat Lasagna Sheets (Barilla brand is my favorite)

16 oz Ground Turkey 

15 oz Ricotta Cheese 

1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese 

1/2 cup Shredded Cheese blend 

3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 Egg

4 Garlic Cloves (chopped) (half for ground turkey and half for sauce)

1/2 Onion (chopped)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Italian Herb Seasoning 

1 cup Spinach 

How To Make It: 

1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees 

2. Prepare the ground turkey: In a skillet cook the chopped onion and garlic on medium heat with oil, add the ground turkey, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and cook until the meat is fully cooked, around 15 minutes. Set aside when done. 

3. Prepare the cheese blend: combine 15 oz ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup shredded cheese blend and 1 egg, season with salt and pepper and set aside once combined evenly. 

4. Prepare the sauce: in a sauce pan heat up the remaining ground garlic with some oil and the spinach. Add 24 oz of marinara sauce and some Italian seasoning if needed, bring to a simmer and set aside. (you may want to add some water to help make your sauce easier to assemble the lasagna. 

5. In a baking dish spray the bottom with non-stick cooking spray. 

6. Add 1 cup of marina sauce on the bottom of the dish, then add 3 sheets of the lasagna and another cup of marinara sauce. 

7. Add 3 heaping spoonful of the ricotta cheese mixture (about 1/2 cup) and then add the mozzarella

8. Add 2/3 cup of the ground meat. 

9. Repeat this 3 more times in the same order, pasta sheets, sauce, ricotta mixture, meat. 

10. On the last layer add the remaining sauce all over and the remaining cheese on top, top with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup shredded cheese blend, and 1/4 cup of fresh mozzarella. I also topped it with lots of ground black pepper and Italian seasoning and a drizzle of olive oil. 

11. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Enjoy :)