Lasanga with Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 2 (15 oz.) containers refrigerated marinara sauce
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Makes 8 Servings

1. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse the noodles, then set aside.
2. In a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, cook the fennel seeds, shaking the pan and stirring constantly, until lightly browned and fragrant, 2-3 minutes. (Watch them carefully when toasting; seeds can burn quickly.) Transfer the seeds to a coffee grinder and grind to a powder or pound the seeds between two clean kitchen towels with a mallet until finely crushed.
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil; add the beef, onion, bell pepper, and zucchini. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the pan juices evaporate and the beef browns, about 10 minutes. Stir in the marinara sauce and fennel; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened and the flavors blend, about 10 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a 9 X 13-inch baking dish, spread one-fourth of the meat sauce. Top with 3 of the noodles; spread  with 1/2 cup of the ricotta. Repeat the layering twice, ending with the meat sauce.
5. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle with the mozzarella and Romano. Bake until heated through and the cheeses are lightly browned, about 20 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

WW POINTS VALUE: 6 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the WW New Complete Cookbook. Lasagna is comfort food that's a labor of love but worth the time and effort. This is what I call the ultimate Italian comfort food. It takes a lot of work in making this dish but it worth it in the end. The meat sauce is like a bolegnese sauce; it has ground beef, onions, garlic, vegetables and seasonings mixed in with marinara sauce. I really loved this lasagna because it was so full of flavor and was so filling. I added garlic to the lasagna because garlic always makes everything better. You can make this lasagna ahead of time. All you have to do is assemble the lasagna without the mozzarella and Romano cheeses; cover and refrigerate up to 2 days or freeze up to 2 months. When you want to cook it, thaw it out overnight in the refrigerator (if you froze it), cover it with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes at 375 F, then uncover, add the cheeses, and bake until heated through and the cheeses melt. You can use cottage cheese in place of the ricotta and use any kind of Italian cheese as a topping and the lasagna will still be delicious. I also highly recommend making your own marinara sauce to go with this dish because homemade marinara is the best because it's packed with rich flavors. 

Whole Wheat Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 2 cups (16 oz.) reduced-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1/4  tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups low-sugar marinara sauce
• 9 whole-wheat lasagna noodles, cooked
• 1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

Makes  12 Servings

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat a 9" X 13" baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the zucchini and cook for 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the riccotta, egg, basil, salt and pepper. Set aside 1/2 cup of the spaghetti sauce.
4. Place 3 lasgna noodles in the prepared baking dish. Evenly spoon half of the spaghetti sauce over the noodles. Top with half of the ricotta mixture, half of the spinach, half of the zucchini and half of the Parmesan. Repeat layering with 3 more noodles and the remaining ingredients. End with remaining 3 noodles. Spoon the remaining sauce over top and sprinkle with the mozzarella.
5. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20 minutes longer, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
    

WW POINTS VALUE: 4 pts

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Cookbook. Lasanga is a wonderful comfort food that is perfect for a weekend dinner. I really enjoyed the filling of this lasagna but the noodles weren't very good. It all depends on what kind of whole wheat noodle you use. I recommend the regular lasagna noodles because they make the lasagna taste so delicious.