Cooking Weblog

This is a great alternative to the traditional tomato based lasagna. Loaded with flavor and good for you. Ground turkey, spinach, peppers, zucchini and more all smothered in a delicious alfredo sauce. Great for a beautiful Fall dinner. It takes a little time to prepare but it is well worth the effort. Serve it with a nice garden salad and garlic bread… wonderful!

Ingredients: Turkey Filling

2 1/2 to 3lbs. ground turkey

1 1/2 tbsp. fresh minced garlic ( about 5-6 cloves )

1/2 green pepper ( small dice )

1/2 red pepper ( small dice )

1 onion ( small dice )

1 tbsp. salt

2 teas. pepper

1 teas dry sage ( crushed )

1 tbsp. dry oregano ( crushed )

1/2 teas. dry thyme ( crushed )

1 1/4 tbsp. dry parsley

Method: Turkey Filling

Add ground turkey to a large stock pot or dutch oven and cook on medium heat to lightly brown, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often. Add all other ingredients and continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the peppers are soft, stirring often. Remove from heat and cover. This is now ready and should look like this:

Ingredients: Cheese Filling

2lbs. ricotta cheese ( 32oz. )

4oz. sharp cheddar cheese ( shredded )

4oz. mozzarella cheese ( shredded ) Jack or provolone will work too.

10-12oz. low fat cottage cheese

1 zucchini ( 1/2in. dice ) about 2 cups

12oz. baby spinach ( cooked and chopped ) frozen is fine

1/2 teas. pepper

2 teas. dry basil ( crushed )

1 tbsp. dry oregano ( crushed )

1 teas. dry marjoram ( crushed )

2 eggs

Method: Cheese Filling

Combine everything into a large mixing bowl and mix well. It should look like this:

Ingredients: alfredo sauce

3/4 cube margarine

3/8 cup flour

5 1/4 cup 1/2 and 1/2

2 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 teas. salt

1 teas pepper

3/4 teas. onion powder

1/2 teas. garlic powder

3/4 teas. oregano ( dry )

3/4 teas. parsley ( dry )

5 oz. romano cheese ( freshly grated )

3 oz. parmesan cheese ( freshly grated )

Method: alfredo sauce

Melt your margarine in a 5 quart sauce pan then add your flour and cook for about 5 minutes over medium low heat to make a roux ( stir almost constantly ). Add the chicken stock a little at a time. Adding it a little at a time will ensure that your roux will not get lumpy ( adding a cold liquid to a hot roux is the best way to avoid lumps, or, a hot liquid to a cold roux ). Stir in the 1/2 and 1/2 ( you can substitute whole milk or a mix of lowfat milk and heavy cream ). Add all seasonings and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Add your cheeses and simmer just long enough to melt the cheese and remove from heat.

Note: A traditional alfredo sauce is made with roux, whole milk and/or cream, with cheese. I just like to add a little more flavor to mine.

Other Ingredients:

2lbs. lasagna noodles ( 2 boxes )

8oz. sharp cheddar cheese ( shredded )

8oz. mozzarella cheese ( shredded )

olive oil

Method: Other ingredients

Combine the cheddar and mozzarella together and mix well, set aside as this will be your topping.

Cook lasagna noodles according to the package instructions.

Assembly: Lasagna

Coat the bottom and sides of your casserole dish with olive oil. You will need two regular sized casserole dishes or one hotel size ( 13in. X 20in. ). Add a layer of cooked lasagna noodles across the bottom of your casserole dish and follow by adding a layer of the cheese mixture ( about 1/3rd of the total mixture ), then about 1/4th of the turkey mixture and a layer of the sauce ( about 12oz. ). Repeat until you have 3 layers, ending with a layer of noodles. Add the remaining turkey mixture, followed by more sauce and sprinkle top with the shredded cheeses. If you are using 2 casserole dishes simply cut the portions in half.

Bake your lasagna for about 1 hour in a preheated 350 degree oven or until the top turns golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand for about 15 minutes to set. If you slice into it right when it comes out of the oven it might fall apart and ooze out so give it a little bit of time. This is what it will look like:

The flavors you will taste are wonderful! You might not want the traditional lasagna after trying this one. I call it a “white” lasagna because of use of alfredo sauce. You can also substitute ground pork or chicken as well. This is also a great idea for using up that left over thanksgiving turkey:

Just shred about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of the left over turkey, saute your garlic, peppers and onions first and then add the turkey and other seasonings and cook to warm through. Then simply follow the other steps.

I hope you’ll give it a try, it will be well worth your time and effort. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look and if you have any questions or comments please send them my way.

Have a great day and HAPPY COOKING!

David,

One Stop Cook