Lasagna

A Healthier (slightly) Lasagna

That heavy, fattening but oh so delicious dinner. It has the tri-fecta of pasta, cheesy goodness and meat. In essence perfection on a plate. And like most things delicious, its not really all that good for you. So how to make it better without loosing all that makes it so delicious? a few substitutions, a tweak here and there and you can cut calories and fat, but not corners. This lets you feel better about eating it, and maybe even go back for seconds.

Ingredients:

8oz Low Fat Ricotta
1 pkg spinach flavored no cook lasagna noodles
1tbs granulated garlic
1 tbs Italian seasoning








1lb sausage of choice (I used a homemade venison sausage, it is low fat and my father made it so I know there are no weird ingredients.)

1 tbs chicken bullion- low sodium, msg free
1/2 tbs salt
1/2 tbs pepper
1/2 tbs stevia- sugar substitute
2 cups shredded low fat, skim milk Mozzarella
1 eggplant
1 red onion
1/2 cup Low Fat Shredded Parmesan 
Pasta Sauce (I use home made)

And-
8 oz  drained Plain fat free Yogurt 

This is simple to make ahead, has multiple uses (click the link to find out more) and is so much healthier than even the low fat ricotta.

I make my lasagna with half drained yogurt and half ricotta. It keeps the flavor but cuts the fat and calories.


How to-

In a bowl mix together the ricotta, yogurt and seasonings. Once mixed fold in the shredded Parmesan and set aside. Tip- a potato masher is great for mixing without spilling ingredients all over the place.

Slice the eggplant and the onion thinly and set aside.

Pre heat your oven to 300. This is a dish best cooked low and slow.











In a large baking dish layer the noodles, egg plant, sausage, onion, mozzarella and ricotta mixture.

Pour a small amount of pasta sauce onto each layer.

Repeat until you have 4-5 layers.

Reserve remaining mozzarella cheese. Cover the lasagna, bake for 1.5 hours, remove cover and put the remaining cheese on top. Continue baking uncovered for 20 minutes or until cheese is browned. Remove from heat, let sit for 10 minutes and serve with a bit more sauce if desired.