HTEAC Does Dinner: Turkey & Veggie Lasagna

It's time for another installment of "HTEAC Does Dinner"! I know it seems like I only cook dinner once every few months. But the truth is I'm just too lazy to take pictures of the dinner making process that takes place in my kitchen a few nights a week. Most of the time I'm experimenting with recipes I find online, so I'm never too sure how they're gonna turn out. This time I made up my own recipe. Ground turkey was on sale, so I bought all they had at the grocery store and put it in the freezer. The fabulous things about cooking with ground turkey are that it's better for you than ground beef, but most importantly you can't tell its turkey! I hate turkey. The only time I'll ever eat turkey is on Thanksgiving when its swimming in my Grandma's gravy. But don't even talk to me about a turkey sandwich. However, I'll replace ground beef with ground turkey any day! I knew I wanted to use it in lasagna. Let me say now, for the record, I'll never make lasagna any other way than this! Normally I wouldn't brag, but I did give myself a nice pat on the back. The boyfriend and the family enjoyed it also. Here's the recipe with pictures.

Turkey & Veggie Lasagna
8-12 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 green bell pepper
1 medium carrot
1 small onion
1 medium zucchini
4 oz. portabella mushrooms
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
14.5 oz. can Italian diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon each, salt & black pepper
26 oz. can spaghetti sauce
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/4 lbs. lean ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1 lb. lasagna noodles
15 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
8 to 16 oz. part skim shredded mozzarella, depending how cheesy you want it (I used 8)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
8 slices Swiss cheese

Chop bell pepper, carrot, and onion about the same size. In a pan over medium heat, sauté pepper, carrot, and onion in olive oil and butter until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop zucchini and mushrooms into bite sized pieces. Add zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, and diced tomatoes, minced garlic, salt, and pepper to sauté pan. Stir until heated through. Tranfer vegetables to a large sauce pot. Stir in spaghetti sauce (I used Hunts Zesty & Spicy sauce) and tomato sauce. Cover and reduce heat to low.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and salt (if desired) and cook until al dente (soft but still has a bite). Drain noodles and cool in a bowl of ice water. Pat noodles dry with a lint-free dish cloth.

While waiting for the water to boil, combine the turkey, Italian seasoning and garlic salt in the sauté pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until turkey is browned. Add turkey to the sauce pot, and continue cooking over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 10x14 casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the dish, about 1 cup. Reserve 2 cups of sauce for spreading on the top. Layer lasagna noodles slightly overlapping. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta on the noodles. Sprinkle with a bit of parmesan cheese, 1/4 of the mozzarella, and 4 slices of Swiss cheese (cut in half). Spread 1 cup of sauce over the cheese. Repeat with noodles, cheese, and sauce until you have 4 layers of noodles and 3 layers of filling (with no Swiss cheese on the 3rd layer). After the 4th layer of noodles, spread the remaining 2 cups of sauce and the remaining mozzarella. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.

(You can see I referenced Joy of Cooking to find out the proper lasagna layering technique!)

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until well brown and bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes before slicing.