Two Sauce Lasagna

Happy 2013! Can you believe it's 2013? Crazy. If your resolution for this year is to eat healthy, this recipe probably isn't the best - you might want to try my lighter 'lasagna' recipes for Lasagna Cupcakes or Spinach Lasagna Rolls. If you're looking for some serious comfort food, however, then this is the perfect recipe. Also, it just occurred to me that I have 3 different recipes that are lasagna-related. Each of them offer something a little different, so pick your poison!

Jake and I had his family over for the Ravens playoff game on Sunday, and I decided I should make this Two Sauce Lasagna. The things I love about lasagna are that it's delicious and there are always plenty of leftovers. It's a win-win. This recipe is a little different (read: delicious), in that it uses both white and red sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach (thawed and well drained)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cups shredded Parmesan cheese (divided)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 lb sweet Italian-style bulk sausage
• 1 jar (24 oz) of your favorite red pasta sauce (plus some extra for serving)
• 12 oven-ready lasagna noodles
• 1 jar (15 oz) of your favorite Alfredo sauce

How to:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, mozzarella, 2 Tbs Parmesan cheese, and eggs. Set aside.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage until cooked through, stirring until small crumbles form - about 4-6 minutes. Drain fat if needed.
• Spread ~1 cup of the red sauce evenly in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Layer 4 noodles over the sauce, followed by half of the ricotta mixture, then 1 cup of red sauce, and half of the cooked sausage.
• Repeat layers, and top with the remaining 4 lasagna noodles.
• Spread the Alfredo sauce over the noodles and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbs of Parmesan cheese.
• Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
• Allow lasagna to rest for 5-10 minutes.

I'm a huge fan of Classico pasta sauces, so that's what I used to make this lasagna. In fact, this dish is actually a Classico recipe that came from one of the jars of pasta sauce I had purchased a while back. I love Alfredo sauce, but rarely eat it because of how fattening it is. It's a perfect complement to the red sauce in this recipe. 

Enjoy!

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Just like my recipe for Lasagna Cupcakes, this recipe provides all the delicious taste of a classic lasagna, but in individual portion sizes. These Spinach Lasagna Rolls are definitely a crowd pleaser, and best of all, they're much healthier than traditional lasagna. They're a great dish if you're looking to incorporate some healthy spinach into your diet - which for me, is not an easy feat. 

Ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 10 oz. frozen spinach - thawed and completely drained
• 15 oz. ricotta cheese (I used low fat)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used a 1/4 cup freshly grated cheese, and 1/4 cup of the good old Kraft kind in the green container)
• 1 egg
• salt and fresh pepper
• 1 24 oz. jar of your favorite pasta sauce




• 9 Tbs grated mozzarella cheese

How to:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook lasagna noodles according to the package.
• Spoon some marinara sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish - it just need to be enough to lightly cover the bottom.
• In a bowl, combine spinach, ricotta, cheese, egg, salt and pepper.
• Lay out lasagna noodles on a piece of wax paper, and dry noodles.
• Note: I dried my noodles by just dabbing them with paper towels. There's probably a better way to do this, but it worked fine for me! 
• Take 1/3 cup of the ricotta-spinach mixture and spread it over a noodle. 
• Starting from 1 end, carefully roll up the lasagna noodle and place seam side down in the baking dish.

•  Repeat with the remaining 8 lasagna noodles.
• Spoon some marinara over the tops of the noodles.
• Top each noodle with 1 Tbs of mozzarella cheese.
• Cover in foil and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cheese is nice and melted.

I usually serve my Spinach Lasagna Rolls with some extra marinara sauce. This dish reheats really well, which is great if you have leftovers. I can't promise that you will, though!

The original recipe can be found here.

Lasagna Cupcakes

Ask and you shall receive. An overwhelming 82% of you wanted to see this recipe, according to my first poll! I love this recipe. My favorite thing about it is how each 'cupcake' is perfectly portioned, and because the recipe uses wonton wrappers instead of actual lasagna noodles, the end product isn't super heavy, like traditional lasagna.

I found this recipe on Betty Crocker's website. The original recipe uses soy protein crumbles, but I opted to use italian sausage instead.

Ingredients:

• 36 wonton wrappers (I used Nasoya brand)
• 1/2 pound italian sausage
• 1 jar (24 oz.) of your favorite pasta sauce
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

How to:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned and crumbled, and combine with pasta sauce. Set aside.
• Combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and egg in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Spray 12 regular-sized muffin cups with cooking spray.
• Place one wrapper in the bottom of each muffin cup. Top with a heaping spoonful of the sausage/pasta sauce mix. Add a heaping spoonful of the ricotta cheese mixture on top.
• Repeat layers again (wonton wrapper, sauce, ricotta).
• Cover with another wonton wrapper, and top with some more of the sausage/pasta sauce mix.
• Top with some mozzarella cheese.
• Spray some aluminum foil with cooking spray, and cover muffin tin with aluminum foil, sprayed side down.
• Cook for 15 minutes.
• Uncover and cook for an additional 12-15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
• Let stand for about 15 minutes before serving.

I like to serve my lasagna cupcakes with some extra marinara sauce on the side. I find this recipe is perfect when you're having a lot of people over (it's easy to double or even triple this recipe), and it's much less messy than traditional lasagna.

I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions!