DIY: Yummy but Healthier Lasagna

Last week, I decided to make lasagna for dinner. I haven't made it in a while and while I do have my favorite go to recipe, I wanted something that everyone in the house could enjoy. J doesn't like ricotta cheese and JOE is carb sensitive.

So I did some googling and then went to my trusted site for information. Pinterest! I really should be getting paid for how much I plug that site in my posts! :-).

I found this recipe but it wasn't entirely what I was looking for so I made some edits to make it my own.

Ingredients for 4-5 servings:

1-lb ground meat (I used half turkey and half beef)

Onion powder (use as much or as little as you want)

Salt & black pepper to taste

1-jar Ragu vegetable pasta sauce

Lasagna noodles (make some extra just incase some go running into a hidden cave...aka J's stomach while cooking)

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

2-tablespoons of ground flax seed (yes, I am all about flax seed right now :-))

1 8oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups of frozen spinach (you can use fresh spinach or arugula if you want. I just had frozen on hand)

How to make:

- Preheat oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit

- Cook the noodles according to the package instructions but remove them a minute before they are fully cooked. The cooking process will continue in the oven and you don't want soggy lasagna. Drain the noodles.

- In a sauce pan, brown the meat, add the Ragu sauce, salt, pepper and onion powder. Bring to a boil then let simmer for about 20-minutes

- Spray oven safe pan and start the layering process

- Add a layer of sauce, then lasagna noodles (enough to cover the pan), top noodles with more sauce, then add some mozzarella cheese, a few sprinkles of the flax seed and spinach. Then add some sauce and repeat the layering again but ending this time with lasagna after the second layer of spinach. Save some sauce for later

- After the last layer, add some sauce on the lasagna and top it off with the Parmesan cheese and some flax seed

- Bake in oven for 30 - 45 minutes. Mine was ready at 35 minutes.

- Let sit for a few minutes after bringing it out of the oven and then serve with your favorite bottle of red wine. 

YUM!

Here's the results of my no-ricotta somewhat healthier lasagna.

Do you have a go to recipe you make all the time? If so, care to share? As you can see, I love trying out new recipes. 

If you do make the recipe above, do let me know how it turns out!

Buon Appetito!