A’s family is pretty darn sweet, so sweet in fact the we gather at his Granny’s house on Thursday evenings for dinner. This past Thursday I volunteered to bring dinner, before pondering what exactly would travel the 30 minute drive well enough to not have to mess with reheating. Lasagna was the perfect solution, and it arrived pretty darn warm even though it took us over an hour to get there thanks to my Pyrex portables carrier and microwave hot pad. (Nashville apparently forgot what tiny bit they knew about driving in the rain during our mini drought). 
I wouldn’t call this a ‘skinny’ recipe, but it’s definitely better than others since it uses lean turkey sausage and skim ricotta, I and A’s family thought it was a nice balance and didn’t even know it was a little ‘skinnied’ until I told them.

Lasagna the Kirsti Way

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Makes one filled to the brim 13 x 9 Pyrex.
Marinara Sauce (Adapted from Serious Eats Marinara)

• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 56 oz. of canned tomatoes (I used one 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes and 2 14 oz. cans of Italian Diced)
• 1 Medium Onion Diced
• 4 Medium Cloves of Garlic Pressed
• 2 Microplaned Baby Carrots
• 1/4 Tsp. Dried Oregano
• 1/4 Tsp.  Crushed Red Pepper
• 1 Tsp. Dried Basil
• Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley to taste
• Salt & Pepper to Taste

Lasagna

• 6 Lean Italian Turkey Sausage links Casings removed (1 1/4 Lbs. I used Jenny-O Lean Sweet)
• 9 Lasagna Noodles
• 15 oz. Skim Ricotta
• 1 cup Grated Parmesan
• 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 cup Snipped Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley to taste

For the Marinara:
1. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a nonstick large sauce pan over medium heat. If using whole canned tomatoes, using clean kitchen shears snip them to in smaller pieces while still in the can.
2. Add diced onions and good about 5 minutes to soften.
3. Add microplaned carrot and pressed garlic. Let cook about a minute.
4. Add canned tomatoes, and dried spices. Stir.
5. Bring to a steady shimmer, and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
6. Remove from heat, add salt, pepper, and snipped parsley to taste.
For the lasagna:
1. Prepare lasagna noodles per instructions, or use the bakable kind.
2. Heat a large deep skillet over medium heat. (A’s parent’s got me this Kitchen Aid one for Christmas, it is my favorite pan ever!)
3. Break up sausage and add it to the pan. Cook thoroughly to 165. Use a spoon to ladle out most of the fat. Remove from heat. Add a few spoon fulls of marinara to the sausage, leaving enough marinara to coat the bottom of the pan and the top of the lasagna.
4. While sausage is cooking combine your skim ricotta with your egg, grated parmesan, and snipped fresh parsley.
5. Layer your lasagna in your dish. I did it this way from Bottom –> Top.

Bottom	Marinara Noodles Mozzarella Sprinkle Ricotta Sausage/Marinara Mozzarella Sprinkle Noodles Mozzarella Sprinkle Ricotta Sausage/Marinara Mozzarella Sprinkle Noodles Marinara
Top	Mozzarella Sprinkle

(Note: if you use an offset spatula to ‘level’ your ricotta, you are a baker).



6. Bake 365 for 30 minutes ‘tented’ with foil.
7. Bake another 10 minutes without foil to brown the top cheese.


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This post is partying here.

What I love about this recipe is how much it makes!
Recommended as MUST make ASAP by Bestie, I made it with in a week of her making it, possibly a record!

My golly I'm set for lasagna once a week at work for weeks! I froze it of course, and it freezes well, and is sooo much better than microwave meals!

I followed the recipe closely. It takes a while, and the first time is a little hetic, but next time will surely be smoother.

Might I point out that my BFF Pioneer Woman, has HUGE pans, next time i'll be making this in the bottom of my non stick stock pot for sure!

Your second pan for this should really be an 8x8 but I don't have a pyrex 8x8 so I went with this larger one, having a skinnier second one doesn't bother me though since it was destined to be lunches.

I also think this is the ONLY Pioneer Woman recipe to ever call for something low fat ever! I have long explained to people that Pioneer Woman is the Paula Dean of the blogging world, it's all delicious but it ain't good for ya most of the time!

Overall pretty easy with lots of mileage!

This is what that much meat looks like in a ‘normal’ size pan vs. Pioneer Woman’s monsters
ewwwwwwwww fat
Adding the tomatoes is when I had real pan size issue, definitely making it on my stock pot next time.
Save yourself and get cut cheese, unless you have a cheese slicer, my cheese was cut pitifully.
See sad cheese.

I felt sooo ‘bad’ using can parmesan instead of fresh!
The Recipe from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1-½ pound Ground Beef
• 1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
• 2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• ½ cups Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles
• (add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)

Preparation Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.

In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).

To assemble:

Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.

Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.

Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.