Holiday Light and Meaty Lasagna

Who needs heavy holiday dishes when we have been expending ½ the calories than we normally do in 2020 due to COVID lockdowns? Here’s a crowd-pleasing comfort food dish to satisfy your mind, body, and soul and offer you the caloric room to have your holiday cakes and eat it too!

Servings: 8-10

Meat Sauce:

1 Tbls La Tourangelle extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbls organic salted butter
1-pound Gibson’s Premium Ground Beef or Gibson’s Burger patties “unpattied” (you can also set aside a few extra patties and follow method for storing in marinating bag prior to grilling)
1 tsp organic dried oregano
1 tsp organic dried thyme
Himalayan salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1 Tbls La Tourangelle extra virgin olive oil
1 large purple onion, diced
2 large stalks celery diced
1 large carrot diced
3 large garlic cloves toasted and minced
½ cup Fullei Fresh Crunchy Sprout Mix
Himalayan salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1 Tbls La Tourangelle extra virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves toasted
8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
16 oz organic canned diced tomatoes drained
¼ cup tomato paste
1 Tbls fresh oregano
Himalayan salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

8 ounces Barilla Lasagna Noodles

Cheesy Layer:

12 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 Tbls Italian Seasoning
1 Tbls Fresh oregano
1 Tbls fresh basal
3 cups shredded Kraft part skim mozzarella Cheese
½ cup grated Kraft reduced fat Parmesan Cheese

Method:

1. Season ground meat with Italian season, salt and pepper to taste.

2. Heat sauté pan with oil and butter and add ground meat to sauté until just browned. If you have a few extra Gibson Patties, sauté in pan until just brown.

3. Remove from heat and cool.

4. Place meat in vacuum sealed bag and refrigerate until ready to use. The longer the better, you can even start this process several hours or night before. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer a plastic baggie or container or dish covered tightly with mix will also work.

5. To same meat sauté pan add 1 Tbls La Tourangelle extra virgin olive oil and sauté cherry tomatoes until browned. Add roasted minced garlic.

6. Add 1 Tbls oil to another sauté pan, heat and add diced onions, celery, and carrot. Sauté the mire pois mix until just soft. Remove from pan and add to tomato mixture.

7. Add diced tomatoes bring to boil and then simmer for approximately 20 – 30 minutes until mixture is reduced by 1/4. Remove from heat. Allow to cool.

8. Take sauce mixture and place in food processor, process until combined yet still contains identifiable pieces of tomato and mire pois ingredients.

9. Remove meat from vacuum sealed bag and place in food processor with Fullei Fresh sprouts and process until just combined.

10. Prepare cheesy mixture by whisking eggs then adding ricotta, parmesan and 2 cups of mozzarella and seasoning. Blend until combined and creamy.

11. Prepare Lasagna Noodles according to directions on package.

12. Heat oven to 375 degrees F, prepare casserole 9 x 13 “dish by spraying with a light coat of organic olive oil spray.

13. Start layers with ¼ layer sauce on bottom, then a layer of noodles, then evenly spread cheesy mixture on noodles, then another layer of sauce, then another layer of noodles, then another layer of sauce.

14. Sprinkle 1 cup remaining mozzarella cheese on top.

15. Cover dish with tinfoil tightly and bake for 45 minutes.

16. Remove tinfoil and broil for a quick few minute to brown top.

17. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes.

18. Serve with Farm Fresh greens and fennel salad.

Brought to you in partnership with Gibsons Steak Shop.