Lasagna & Lighter Fare

Hi everyone! Sorry it took me awhile to post this lasagna... I know you were salivating! :) It does take a little extra work to make the homemade sauce, but Mmmm it's worth it!

LASAGNA

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 16 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 t easpoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Hmm, what's new with us? Aaron is under going some personal training at Snap Fitness, so we are trying to stick to healthy menus. Lasagna is off the list! :) Haha. I do try to stick with healthy recipes for meals, but we do splurge every now and then... but we're going to do our best on sticking with it and not allowing ourselves "cheats" or "splurges" too often. :) Your help, support, and encouragement for Aaron & me would be greatly appreciated! It's a tough world out there to lose weight! :)

So, for the lighter fare menu I will share with you some delicious roasted veggies. These are perfect for this time of year as everything is turning colors and we're adjusting to fall vegetables. I will have to admit, I was hesitant of this "all vegetable meal", but it was DELICIOUS! And it filled us up! And yes, I would consider it a meal, not a side dish. But it could work as a side dish if you did some persuading! :) Haha. Enjoy!

FALL ROASTED VEGETABLES

Ingredients:
- Acorn squash
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 large Idaho potato
- Olive oil
- Garlic salt
- Pepper
- 1 head of broccoli
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 1 package frozen brussels sprouts, thawed
- Brown rice
- Vegetable or chicken broth

Directions:
1. Cut top and bottom off of acorn squash. Slice entire squash in half and remove seeds. Slice squash into bite size squares (the peel can stay on, it softens up while roasting). Place in a sprayed glass pan.

2. Peel sweet potato, chop into bite size pieces. Your choice for the Idaho potato- peel or no peel. Chop and add to pan.

3. Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.

4. Roast in a 425 degree oven for approx 25-30 minutes. Finish them off by broiling for a minute or 2.

5. Chop broccoli and cauliflower into florets, place in a seperate pan. Remove cores from brussels sprouts and chop in half if large. Add to broccoli & cauliflower. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt & pepper.

6. Pop the broccoli mixture into the oven about halfway through roasting the other mixture (potatoes, squash). They take only about 10-15 minutes to roast.

7. Meanwhile, prepare desired amount of rice on stove using broth instead of water to cook. Serve together! DELICIOUS!!