Butternut Squash Lasagna

I (Britney) came over to Mom's house today and saw this beautiful plate of what looked like shredded cheese. Upon placing a bit in my mouth, I was disappointed to discover that it was squash. I'm not a huge fan of squash, and definitely not raw, so I wasn't looking forward to what she was making.

I was wrong.

This Butternut Squash Lasagna was amazing. Leave it to Mom to make vegetables taste awesome. I should have known! (My other favorite butternut squash recipe is one of hers. And I eat it like candy.) This recipe is also a submission to the National Pasta Association challenge to find new ways to eat whole grain noodles. The whole wheat pasta was filling, so I ate less than I would have with white flour noodles, even though it was delicious.

The beautiful combination of being meat-free and extra filling means that this meal is more budget-friendly than most lasagnas. You won't be disappointed!

Ingredients
1 (8oz) package of whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 (32 oz) package of low fat cottage cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon of dried basil
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of dried rosemary
1 1/2 cups frozen spinach
5 cups shredded butternut squash
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
Garnish with basil and rosemary

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8x8 pan. Line pasta noodles on the bottom of the pan.
2.  Mix together in a small bowl cottage cheese, egg, basil, garlic, salt, rosemary, and spinach.
3. Spread half of the cottage cheese on to the noodles.
4. Spread have the squash on top of cottage cheese mixture.
5. Put on another layer of noodles the opposite direction.
6. Spread remaining squash on top of the noodles.
7. Then spread on remaining cottage cheese on top.
8. Sprinkle the cheese on top and spread it evenly.
9. Sprinkle on some basil and rosemary if desired.
10. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Take out of the oven and take foil. Place back in oven. Bake until cheese melts and it is fork tender when you put a fork in the center.
11. Take out of the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. Cut and serve.

“By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the National Pasta Association and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”

An InLinkz Link-up

Vegetable Lasagna

I have not made lasagna for a while. It was fun to make it again. It was nice way to use a lot of vegetables. I figured I had used about 5 vegetables, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, and crook neck squash, That made me really happy. You could put in even more. :) I threw in a small amount of meat to make my son happy. Which it did. He really liked it, he had 2 big servings. That was a success. I have made vegetable lasagna before. I liked this version with the vegetables shredded and added into the sauce. It blended together well. The whole family was happy with the results. I don't cook the noodles ahead of time. The sauce just gets absorbed into the noodles and they cook while you bake it. It was a great meal! The leftovers made a wonderful lunch too. :) Here is another version of lasagna with homemade ricotta!

Ingredients:

favorite spaghetti sauce (I made some with Roma tomatoes, herbs, garlic, onions, and fire roasted tomatoes. I let cook for together for about 4-5 hours. I made extra and froze some of it for a quick meal later.)
1/3 lb lean ground beef browned and added to the sauce * optional
1 zucchini shredded
3 carrots shredded
1 crook neck squash
1 24 0z cottage cheese
1 pkg lasagna noodles
grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions: heat oven to 350

1. Prepare spaghetti sauce if you make homemade. The longer it cooks on low the better the flavor. Add a lot of yummy herbs like, oregano, basil, garlic, rosemary, marjoram, thyme etc.

2. Mix all the vegetables and meat with the sauce. Let them cook together for a few minutes.

3. Pour some sauce at the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. (My sauce was not really thick, some of the water gets cooked when it cooks into the noodles. I used stoneware and loved how it cooked) then place some noodles on top of it. (one layer).

4. Then put on another layer of sauce and then a layer with the cottage cheese.

5. Then the noodles again. Put the noodles in a different direction than you did the first time. Vertical or horizontal. Then put on another layer of sauce. Then I grated on some fresh Parmesan.

6. Cover the pan with foil and let bake about an hour, or until the noodles are soft. In preheated oven. Let cool a few minutes and serve. The combination of all the flavors was fantastic. Happy Eating!


* Great way to use our summer squash. We are loving it!

Chicken Lasagna & Home Made Ricotta

This is the curds before I added the milk. This is the mixture after adding a little milk. Consistency similar to cottage cheese.


This was a fun project. I had gone to a Bosch class a while back, that taught how to make ricotta. I had thought it would be fun to give it a try. I usually make lasagna with cottage cheese. I thought it would be fun to try and make some when I made the lasagna today. This is how you make it. It was super easy. It worked best with whole milk. The more cream and fat the better.

Recipe:
Apple Cider Vinegar Ricotta
(You could cut down the recipe)
8 C Whole Milk
1/8 C Cider Vinegar
1/8 t0 1/4 Tsp salt
1/2 C Whole milk

Directions: (It should make about 3 C after you add the milk.)
Bring milk to 185 degrees on the stove in a saucepan. Remove from heat. While stirring add the vinegar and salt.. Tiny curds will form very quickly. Pour into colander over a bowl. I then added a little milk to it and put it in the fridge while I was making the lasagna.

Recipe: Made a 9x13
Chicken Lasagna Heat oven to 350
2 1 /2 C shredded cooked chicken
2 1/2 C ricotta or cottage cheese
Spaghetti sauce ( I used 2 large cans of tomatoes, 2 T Basil, 2 T Parsley, 3 garlic cloves, 2 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 onion chopped in pieces, 1 sm. can of tomato paste, 1/3 C water. Longer you simmer the better the flavor. I pureed it in the blender.
Parmesan Cheese or shredded cheese of your choice
lasagna noodles (I don't cook my noodles ahead it is your choice)

1. Grease 9 x13 pan.

2. Pour a small amount of sauce in the pan. Place noodles on the bottom. Then put on more sauce, enough to cover . Then a layer of chicken, a layer of sauce, noodles, ricotta, chicken, pasta , sauce. cover with shredded cheese of your choice. Cover with foil.

3. Then bake in preheated oven for about an hour till noodles our soft. Can take the foil off for the last few minutes after the noodles are soft.

Chicken is a nice variation for lasagna.