BACKGROUND

My nutrition friend, Anna, and I made this low-fat lasagna for our nutrition food science class. Our challenge was to modify a regular lasagna recipe to a low-fat version. We then had to present a final dish to a panel of judges for a little taste test. It was nerve-wracking, but we did pretty well!

I do have to be honest… This dish is labor intensive and take a whole heap of patience. It takes forever to make, but it’s definitely worth it. Maybe if you have a free Sunday afternoon?

It would make for a great reheat dish if you have a busy week ahead of you since it does feed about 6-8 people. My household consists of two people and two cats, so I’d be more motivated to make it for a special occasion, such as having house guests or family over for dinner.

Number of Servings: 8

Time Period for Quantity: 204 minutes

Prep Time Required: 24 minutes

Final Prep Equipment:

• Range Top Burner
• Convection Oven

Utensils:

• French Knife
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• 8 Medium-Sized Bowls
• 11 Small Saucers
• Large Plate
• Plastic or Wooden Spatula
• Big Spoon

Pots and Pans:

• Sauce Pot with a Lid
• 9 x 13 Inch Baking Dish

Auxiliary Equipment:

• Cutting Board
• Scale

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb turkey sausage, lean
• 3.4 lb ground turkey, lean
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, canned
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, canned
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• ½ Tbsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper, ground
• 4 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 oz ricotta cheese, low fat
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp salt (for ricotta mixture)
• ¾ lb mozzarella cheese, low fat, sliced
• ¾ cup parmesan cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large skillet cook and stir turkey sausage, ground turkey, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned.
3. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and parsley. Simmer covered for about 1 1/2 hours while stirring occasionally.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2-teaspoon salt.
5. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13-baking dish. Arrange noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
6. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover with foil. To prevent sticking – either spray foil with cooking spray or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.