My Mission:

I love cooking. I love baking. I feel like it's a wonderful outlet for my creativity and a way to warm the hearts of my loved ones. Days spent in my kitchen with my apron on and flour in my hair are my favorite days.
However- having struggled with my weight my whole life I've learned how to modify recipes for years. Now on Weight Watchers- I still cook delicious foods for my husband but I have tricks to shave off lots of fat and calories!
Allow me to share....

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Low fat(ish) Veggie Lasagna (SO YUM!!!)

Ok, first let me say that this recipe was a total knock out! One of the best lasagnas I've ever made I think! However, I didn't get as many pictures as usual, nor did I write down all the measurements so if you try to recreate this you'll have to "wing it".
For starters- I make my sauce from scratch. It's always different. I know I've written about a sauce before but this was today's sauce:



2 TBS olive oil
1 sweet onion
Saute
Add 4 cloves of chopped garlic
In a food processor add
1 red pepper
1 large can of italian tomatoes
Puree
Add puree to sauteed onions and garlic
Add 1 tsp of sugar, 1 TBS each of garlic powder and oregano
And of course some salt to taste
Now for the weird ingredient of the day: 1 oz of goat cheese! (it's super creamy and tangy and adds a nice zippy little kick!)
Slow cook the sauce on a low heat and taste to make sure there's enough salt


While the sauce simmers away and makes your house smell delicious....
Roast another 4 large cloves of garlic (I told you I love garlic!!) in a little olive oil at 400 degrees for about 20 mins. While it's roasting- thinly slice 3 or 4 zucchinis lengthwise (I use a mandolin but if you're good with a knife- go for it!). Take the garlic out and put the zucchini in the oven with a little cooking spray and salt and pepper. Basically you just want to soften it up and brown it a little.
When the zucchini is roasting... get the food processor out and blend the roasted garlic, 1/2 cup of regular ricotta cheese, 2 cups of fat free cottage cheese, 1 TBS of chopped fresh basil, 1 tsp of dried oregano, 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes, salt to taste and 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese. Blend. Taste. So creamy and flavorful isn't it??
Your zucchini should be perfectly cooked now.
Layer your lasagna with sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, zucchini and.... a sprinkle of asiago cheese on the 1st layer... repeat all steps and add a sprinkle of parmesan on the second layer... and after repeating again add slices of fresh mozzarella cheese on top. Interesting fact for weight watchers folks... fresh mozzarella = 1 point!
Bake at 35 for 45 mins. At the very end- broil for 5 until the cheese looks like toasted marshmallows! Enjoy!

1 comment: