Best (Healthy) Lasagna Ever

Is it really Monday already? Raise your hand if you are just not ready to face the week. I kind of feel like the weekend never happened. The initial plan was to do some boat work, which we did, and it was glorious. Seriously. It started out feeling like winter, but by mid-afternoon on Saturday, we were working hard to take the shrink wrap and frame off and to finally open the cabin after so many long months. It was amazing to be back on board, even without water underneath quite yet.

The plan after that was a date night and a lazy Sunday before having friends over for a Rioja tasting, but my husband was asked to babysit very early Sunday morning. Out the window went our date, so cooking up something delicious was the next best thing.

As you know I often use cook books for inspiration rather than to follow recipes by the book, and Saturday night was no different. I grabbed one of my favorites, a book  from Sally Bee, The Secret Ingredient and found a recipe for Healthiest Ever Lasagna. I changed it up ever-so-slightly making it likely a little less healthy, but overall I think it packed a good punch of protein and nutrients. We both had two servings for dinner, I packed the rest for weekday lunches, and on Sunday morning I made another lasagna, so yeah, it’s good.

I totally eyeballed everything, so I apologize for not having exact measurements. I used the following ingredients and ended up with enough filling for two lasagnas. I love when that happens.

Lasagna filling

lean ground turkey (about a pound)

baby bella mushrooms, crumbled (about 4 cups)

carrots, chopped (about 4 cups)

large yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup red wine – I used a Coteaux Sauvages Rhone blend from Michel-Schlumberger because it was opened already. It’s an amazing wine, and it cooked down , giving the lasagna great flavor

12 ounces of canned chopped tomatoes with juice

5 teaspoons tomato  paste

a few pinches of ground oregano, basil, and black pepper

Lasagna sauce

1 cup skim milk

flour and butter for the roux

a cup shredded aged cheddar

Giovanni Rana no-boil lasagna noodles (from the fresh pasta section of the store)

To make the filling, I started by cooking the onions down in a tiny bit of oil, then layering in the carrots, garlic and turkey until the turkey was browned, then mixing in the rest. This filling may seem like it has a lot of liquid, but it simmers for about 45 minutes, resulting in a rich, thick, and aromatic mix. I am kind of glad it’s still cool enough for recipes like this.

While the filling was simmering, I made a quick white sauce for the topping. First up was a roux of flour and butter which I cooked until nice and brown, adding skim milk and stirring away until nice and blended. I added a pinch of nutmeg and then started to layer my lasagna, topping it with the white sauce and then the shredded cheese.

I popped it into the oven at 400 for about 20 minutes, finishing with 2 minutes under the broiler on high to get the cheese bubbly and brown. Gorgeous.

We really, really loved this dish. The wine and mushrooms added a ton of flavor, and it was filling. I often find myself hungry after dinner, but this was really satisfying. It was healthier and cheaper than going out to dinner and resulted in great lunches for the week. You can’t beat it.

Making lunches and breakfasts ahead of time and eating well are two big goals for this week. Last week was kind of chaotic getting used to a new schedule, and I felt like every day all I could think about was crashing in bed. Hopefully this week will bring some extra energy.

What are your mini goals for the week?