Quick and Tasty Lasagna

Now this is not the typical homemade authentic lasagna.  This is a quick version to help out those that crave lasagna but don’t have the time to really make it, and for those to cut down or properly manage their serving size of their meals.  I’ve cut down the calories as much as possible to make it a bit healthier… I hope you all enjoy this!

Prep time: ½ hour

Cook time: 45 minutes

Yields about: 4 servings

Serving size: 2 in x 3 in piece

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground beef, extra lean (93% lean, 7% fat)

1 tbsp of Cayenne pepper

1 tsp Black pepper

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 clove of garlic, minced

4 cups of mozzarella cheese, fat free

1 package of barilla pasta, no boiling needed/oven ready (only 4 sheets needed for this recipe)

1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I prefer Francesca Rinaldi’s sweet and tasty sauce)

1 small container of fat free ricotta cheese

1 loaf pan, 8x3x2 or around that size so that the pasta will fit into the bottom of the pan.  You might have to fuss with the bottom of the pan so that it will fit the pasta

Directions:

• Take ground beef and brown.  Half way through browning process add in minced and powder garlic, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.  Continuing browning so that all the meat is cooked through and drain any fat that should cook out of the meat.  Once it is add in the jar of spaghetti sauce minus 2 tbsp left to the side. Bring it up to a simmer and then remove from heat.

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• Once the meat sauce is complete this is when you can start layering.  Take your pan and place 2 tbsp of sauce you have set aside on the bottom of the pan.  This will help keep the lasagna from sticking to the bottom of the pan

• Layering should be:
• Pasta
• Thin layer of ricotta
• Meat Sauce
• Mozzarella Cheese and then repeat beginning with pasta. 
• **You should be able to make between 3-4 layers.  I usually can fit about 4 layers.
•  Cover the pan with tin foil, and place into oven.

• Let it cook in the oven at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until you can stick a knife into the middle of the pan and there is no resistance.  Once it is cook through remove the tin foil and use the broiler to brown the top of the lasagna, should only take about 5 minutes.  Once the top is brown you have a completed quick and tasty lasagna.  Let it cool down a little before cutting into and serving. 

Tips: Serve with a side salad with just a touch of dressing and 1 piece of garlic toast.  This is a perfect meal to make during the weekends and then freeze it for later in the week when you don't have time to cook but want a home cooked meal.  The mini sized loaf pans cuts down on the amount of time to cook, and again to help with portion control.  Also makes it easier to store in the freezer.  Also just another fact that when compared to a piece of lasagna from Olive garden at 850 calories, mine only has 814 and sometimes that can make a difference.  Also the calorie count could be smaller for mine because the portion size isn't always accurate, sometimes it's a bit smaller than what my calorie calculator calculates :-) Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		814.6
Total Fat		25.9 g
	Saturated Fat	8.6 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	3.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	10.9 g
Cholesterol		117.0 mg
Sodium		2,187.9 mg
Potassium		1,224.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate		71.6 g
	Dietary Fiber	6.5 g
	Sugars	5.0 g
Protein		70.1 g