Hearty turkey lasagna

There's something comforting about sitting down to a home-cooked dinners on Sunday nights.  It's a great way to end a weekend and to start a new week, whether the weekend was busy and flew by, or was nice and relaxing.  Since I have the extra time on a Sunday afternoon, I usually make something that is more time consuming and maybe more complicated.  

I have always been intimidated by lasagna, because it seems like a complex process to make and assemble.  I'm not going to lie...this wasn't the easiest thing I've ever made.  I'm glad I made it on a Sunday afternoon because it took a bit of time to make.  The sauce alone  took 35 minutes just to simmer, and then after putting the multiple layers together it had to bake for over an hour.  The long process was definitely worth the wait.  It turned out cheesy, gooey, meaty, and hearty as the name claims it to be.  Even though the recipe comes from Cooking Light, it was hard to tell it was a lightened up recipe.  I lightened it up a bit more than the magazine and used ground turkey instead of ground round.  

I think the best sign of a good meal is when people go back for seconds and everyone, even my picky 9-year old cousin had a second helping!  

Penny's quote of the meal: "I can't believe this is from Cooking Light!"  

Hearty Turkey Lasagna

adapted from Cooking Light

1 lb ground turkey

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped white onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped, divided

1 (28 oz) can of whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped

1 (14.5 oz) can Italian stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

2 cups 1% cottage cheese 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 (15 oz) container part-skim ricotta cheese

1 egg white, lightly beaten

12 lasagna noodles (not pre-cooked kind), cooked

2 1/2 cups shredded Italian provolone cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

In large pot, cook meat over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble.  Drain and set aside.  

In same pot, heat olive oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic and saute 5 minutes.  Return the turkey to pan.  

Add 2 tbsp parsley, whole tomatoes, Italian stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, basil, pepper, and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.  Uncover and simmer for 20 more minutes.  

Meanwhile, make lasagna noodles.  When they are finished, lay them out on baking pan coated with baking spray, making sure they do not stick to each other.  

In separate bowl, beat the cottage cheese, 2 tbsp parsley, Parmesan cheese, egg white, and ricotta cheese until smooth.  Set aside.  

To assemble:

Spread 3/4 cup of tomato mixture in bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 noodles over tomato mixture.  Next, top with half of the cottage cheese mixture and 2/3 cup provolone cheese.  Repeat layers (tomato mixture, noodles, remaining cottage cheese mixture, provolone cheese).  Top the 2nd provolone layer with the rest of the noodles.  Spread tomato mixture over noodles, cover, and bake for 1 hour.  

After 1 hour, uncover the baking dish, top with remaining provolone cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.  

Remove from oven and let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.  This helps the lasagna set up a little before cooking.