Lasagna Love-Muffins

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen chopped spinach
• 2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 whole egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1.5 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/4 jars marinara sauce (approx. 30oz)
• 18 whole grain lasagna noodles, cooked
• 1.25 lb lean ground turkey (at least 90% lean)
• 2-3 zucchini/Summer Squash

Preparation:

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Slice zucchini (and/or summer squash) into rounds and line up on cookie sheet sprayed liberally with oil spray. Roast in oven for 16-18 minutes. Pull out and set aside. 
3. Cook ground turkey in a skillet over medium-high heat and drain. Add half jar of tomato sauce and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
4. Cook and drain the spinach well, then set aside.
5. In a large bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, egg, egg white, ground black pepper, garlic, basil, and oregano. Add the spinach and mix thoroughly.
6.  Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees. Coat 3 Jumbo muffin tins with oil spray (total of 18 muffin cups).

Lasagna muffin assembly:

1. Cut all 18 cooked lasagna noodles in half. Spoon 1 tablespoon tomato sauce on bottom of each muffin tin.
2. Top with 2 half noodles, criss-crossed on bottom of each muffin tin to create a basket.
3. Add one zucchini round, then a heaping tablespoon of turkey mixture.
4. On top of that, add a heaping tablespoon of spinach/ricotta mixture, plus another zucchini round and a heaping tablespoon of marinara sauce.
5. Lastly, sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese evenly over 18 lasagna muffins.
6. If you have leftover zucchini/summer squash rounds, add on top as garnish.
7. Cover tins loosely with tinfoil (so cheese doesn’t get stuck) and bake for 30 minutes.
8. Remove foil and cook for another 5-7 minutes until cheese is golden brown, hot and bubbly. 

Makes 18