Vegetarian Lasagna

I'll start off by saying that I love carbs. Like really love carbs as much as the next person and I still eat them, but I try to stick to the good ones like whole grains. I have mentioned before that with this pregnancy, I have been trying so hard to eat much healthier than I did with my previous one. I gained so much weight that my doctor asked me to slow down! Plus baby weight isn't fun for anyone. I have also been trying to eat as little meat as possible so finding alternatives it is!

I am sure there are a million recipes out there (Pinterest!) on how to make vegetarian lasagna, but this is how I make it. No measuring and with ingredients and veggies we like.

So simple, although it does take a bit of time to put together, but the end result is so worth it!

You'll need-

Eggplant- 1 and a half
Zucchini- 3
Cottage cheese
Mozzarella- skim, 1 2cup bag
Oregano
Organic marinara sauce- 1 jar

The first step is to roast the veggies a bit with olive oil, salt and pepper. I sliced them really thinly, laid them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 5-7 minutes or until slightly cooked. I didn't want them browned, just pliable enough. If you've had eggplant before, you know that it takes a while to cook enough for it to be cut with a fork easily, and for it to absorb flavors. If you feel like this step is too much, or too time consuming, you can probably skip it and just bake your lasagna for a little longer! I totally wouldn't make this during the week, I save these types of recipes for the weekend, especially Sundays when I have to make bigger meals for lunch on Mondays. :)

Once you have all of the veggies lightly roasted, spread a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of a glass baking pan and layer one of the veggies, add more sauce, cottage cheese, mozzarella and a bit of oregano then the other veggie. Continue layering until you're out of veggies!

Bake for about 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees. Cheese will melt, sauce will bubble and the veggies will be deliciously soft and flavorful. It tastes just like lasagna.

This makes about 8 servings. I always make this much because we have it for dinner and lunch the next day.

I hope you try this and enjoy it!

Crockpot Lasagna

I've said a few times before that Crockpot recipes are our thing right now. It is so easy for me to prepare everything the night before and throw it in the Crockpot to cook all day and dinner is ready when we get home. It's the best feeling when I don't have to cook after working all day. Plus one pot and a couple of dishes to clean isn't a big deal! We can then sit down and watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Such oldies that we are over here. I also get to spend more time with my little family and that's always a win.

I got this recipe off of my handy dandy phone app and wanted to try it! I still have the ingredients for a Crockpot Jambalaya that I plan to make on Friday. I'll let you know how that one goes! I will say that since the cooking time for this is 5 hours, I made this one on Sunday and not during the week. Any Crockpot recipe I make during the week has a cook time of 7-8 hours otherwise it will burn by the time we get home!

For the lasagna you'll need-

8 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 pack of ground turkey- I use 85/15 (if you like it meaty use the whole pack otherwise use half)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
A jar of pasta sauce sauce- I use Wild Oats organic marinara pasta sauce.
1/3 cup of water
Mushrooms- this recipe calls for canned mushrooms but I used fresh and sauteed them in a little Olive oil.
15oz fat free ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded skim milk mozzarella cheese- I didn't use the entire amount, probably 1 cup.

Brown the turkey meat and stir in the Italian seasoning, set aside. I sprayed the inside of the pot with olive oil and layered 4 noodles. You can break them to make them fit. Add the ground turkey, a layer of sauce, mushrooms, water and cheeses. Repeat. 

Set on low and cook for 5 hours. Voila! Dinner is ready. It's not the healthiest but it is warm, rich and comforting! I think anything having to do with pasta is comforting. ;)





Hope you enjoy it!