Classic lasagna

Ingredients

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 1 lb/454 g extra lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup (250 mL) sliced mushrooms
• 1 pkg (10 0z/300g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
• ½ tsp (2.5 mL) each salt and pepper
• 2 tsp (10 mL) dried basil or ¼ cup (60 mL) fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano
• 1 can (28 oz/796 mL) crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup (250 mL) water
• 1 cup (250 mL) reduced sodium low-fat cottage cheese
• ½ cup (125 mL) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided 
• 1 cup (250 mL) part-skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Cook ground beef, onion, garlic and mushrooms for about 8 minutes or until ground beef is cooked through and no longer pink. Discard any fat and then stir in spinach, salt, pepper and herbs. Cook for 2 minutes before stirring in tomatoes and water; bring to a simmer and then turn off heat and set aside.
4. Mix cottage cheese and ¼ cup of the parmesan cheese and set aside.
5. Spread ½ cup meat mixture onto bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with 3 lasagna noodles. Build layers with ½ of the cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup meat sauce and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat another layer with 3 lasagna noodles, remaining half of cottage cheese, 1 cup meat sauce and 1/3 of the mozzarella. Finish layers with the last 3 noodles, remaining meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup Parmesan. Cover with foil sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Bake 1 hour, removing foil after 45 minutes to brown the top. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

Tips:

• Nutrition know-how: Part-skim mozzarella cheese contains about one-third less fat than regular mozzarella.
• Balanced plate: Serve with 2 cups side salad or steamed vegetables to complete the meal.
• Cooking know-how: ‘Ready to cook’ noodles can be timesaving but they require a recipe of their own. Because they are not cooked you need more liquids to allow them to soften right in the dish. It is not recommended to use them in this recipe.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Canada’s 250 Essential Diabetes Recipes, Canadian Diabetes Association, Edited by Sharon Zeiler, BSC, MBA, RD, Robert Rose, 2011