Skinny Lasagna #RedGoldRecipes #Giveaway

Yum

I’m not sure what the weather has been like where you live, but in these parts it has been darn cold. I’m not really complaining (well, maybe just a little…) since I do live in Minnesota and it is January. The thing is, the cold weather makes me crave a nice comforting, warm casserole. Something that can serve a crowd, in case we invite a few people over to watch the game. Something easy, because I don’t want to spend the whole day in the kitchen. Oh yeah…can we make it lower in calories? I need to drop a few pounds….. Sound impossible? Meet Red Gold Tomatoes' recipe for Skinny Lasagna!

I was introduced to Red Gold's lasagna recipes last year, when I made their Fresh Harvest Lasagna. It is so easy to make! Seriously, there is no need to boil the lasagna and you don't need to buy that leathery "no boil" stuff, either...just regular lasagna. This year, Red Gold has teamed up with Laura's Lean Beef to create the perfect "Skinny", yet meaty lasagna....and it's just as easy to make. Laura's Lean Beef is a Kentucky based company that produces lean, natural beef from cattle that are humanely raised without hormones and fed a natural diet of grass and grain. Like Red Gold, they are a family run company!

"Skinny" Lasagna (recipe courtesy of Red Gold Tomatoes)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water

1 (28 ounce) can Red Gold® Crushed Tomatoes, or 2 (15 ounce) cans Red Gold Crushed Tomatoes

2 (14.5 ounce) cans Red Gold® Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano

Ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 pound Laura's 96% Lean Ground Round, or ground turkey, cooked and drained

1 (16 ounce) box traditional whole wheat lasagna noodles

1 (15 ounce) carton low fat cottage cheese

2 cups shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated low sodium Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large mixing bowl combine water, crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes, black pepper, Italian seasoning and ground round, stir to combine ingredients in the sauce.

Cover the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch baking pan with 1½ cups of sauce mixture.  Arrange 1/3 of noodles on top of sauce, slightly overlapped.  Top with ½ of cottage cheese, ½ of mozzarella cheese and 1 cup of sauce.  Repeat layers and top with last 1/3 of noodles and the remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 to 1½ hours; until noodles are cooked. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

So that's it. Really. And even though I usually change at least a half dozen things in any given recipe, this time I left it as it was (except that I couldn't find whole wheat lasagna). Skinny? At about 330 calories per serving, it certainly is. My husband actually preferred the cottage cheese to the ricotta. He had no idea he was eating "Skinny" lasagna.

This year, to celebrate their line of Simple Gourmet Lasagna recipes, Red Gold and Laura's Lean Beef are teaming up to give away six Gourmet Lasagna Party Kits valued at $325 and 750 custom aprons. Simply "like" both Red Gold and Laura's Lean Beef on Facebook, and fill out the form. The sweepstakes will run from January 13 through February 3, so hurry over and throw your hat in the ring!

Click Here to enter.

To sweeten the pot even more, Red Gold has given me the nod to have a little giveaway of my own. You can win a "Mini" Lasagna Kit consisting of:

2- 14-ounce cans of Red Gold diced tomatoes with Basil Garlic and Oregano

1- 28-ounce can Red Gold crushed tomatoes

A package of lasagna noodles

A Laura's Lean Beef apron

A coupon for Laura's Lean Beef product

6 Simple Gourmet Lasagna recipes

Simply enter with the Rafflecopter widget (your info will only be visible to me)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was given product and coupons. All opinions are my own.

Game Day Recipe Round-Up

Still not sure what to serve at the Super Bowl party? Here are a few ideas from the archives.......

Cowboy Salsa

Cheesy Pepperoni Blossoms

Fresh Harvest Lasagna

Cincinnati Chili Dogs

Faux White Castle Sliders

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread

Happy Noshing!

Fresh Harvest Lasagna ..... #RGLasagna

With the Super Bowl nearly upon us, isn't it time we start thinking about what to feed a crowd? My friends at Red Gold Tomatoes are having a Lasagna Party with the perfect recipes to help out! They have even made it easy for you to create your own version of gourmet lasagna, by providing a fool-proof basic recipe....follow the basics and then add your own ingredients for your very own custom lasagna!

The basic Red Gold "All-In-One" Lasagna is so simple to make that even a novice cook will have no problem putting it together. It starts with regular lasagna noodles...nothing fancy...and you don't have to boil them to get it started. Then, a combination of  Red Gold® Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano, Red Gold® Crushed Tomatoes, and some Italian seasoning makes the delicious sauce (the sauce cooks up, full of flavor, right in the oven). Add your own favorite ingredients (sausage? chicken? pepperoni?) to make it your own, or choose one of Red Gold's gourmet recipe ideas. 

Since my daughter is a vegetarian, it was a no-brainer for me to choose Red Gold's Fresh Harvest Lasagna for my trial run. Oh my gosh---so easy and so good! Let's see how it's done---

Fresh Harvest Lasagna (recipe courtesy of Red Gold Tomatoes)

Printable Version

2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1  large zucchini, chopped

1  medium yellow summer squash,

1 (small, yellow) onion, chopped

1/2  red bell pepper, chopped

1  cup fresh chopped broccoli florets

1  large carrot, minced

1  (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms, chopped

3   garlic cloves, minced

1/2  cup water

1  (28 ounce) can Red Gold® Crushed Tomatoes, or 2 (15 ounce) cans

2  (14.5 ounce) cans Red Gold® Diced Tomatoes With Basil, Garlic & Oregano

1   teaspoon Italian seasoning

Salt to taste

1 (16 ounce) box lasagna noodles, traditional, uncooked

1 (15 ounce) carton low fat ricotta cheese

3  cups shredded Italian blend cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add zucchini, squash, onion, bell pepper, broccoli, carrots and mushrooms; saute until vegetables are crisp tender.  Add garlic and cook for another minute, remove from heat.

In large mixing bowl combine water, RED GOLD® CRUSHED TOMATOES, RED GOLD® DICED TOMATOES with BASIL, GARLIC & OREGANO, Italian seasoning and salt.

Cover the bottom of a 9x13x2 inch baking pan with 1 1/2 cups of sauce mixture.  Arrange 1/3 of noodles on top of sauce, slightly overlapped.  Top with 1/2 of ricotta cheese, 1/2 vegetable mixture, 1 cup of Italian blend cheese and 1 cup of sauce.  Repeat layers and top with last 1/3 of noodles and the remaining sauce.

Sprinkle with remaining Italian blend cheese and Parmesan cheeses.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 to 1½ hours; until noodles are cooked. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I followed Red Gold's recipe exactly...well almost....I did use frozen broccoli instead of fresh....but really this version didn't need much improvising. I will pass along a couple of tips, though: 

(1) You can use a regular 9X13 pan...just make sure the sides are at least 2 inches deep. If you do use a regular pan (as opposed to a larger "lasagna" pan), make sure to place a baking sheet underneath to catch any drips.

(2) Use non-stick foil to wrap around the lasagna before placing it in the oven (non-stick side down!), or spray regular foil with cooking spray, so the cheese doesn't stick.

Oh my gosh...this is so easy to make and so tasty!

Don't forget to visit Red Gold's RG Lasagna Party Sweepstakes  page on Facebook for a chance to win one of 1000 aprons or a Lasagna kit (which includes a Le Creuset lasagna pan) worth $250! The sweepstakes will run until February 5th, 2014.

Disclaimer: I was provided with the recipe and a starter kit of canned tomatoes. All opinions remain my own.

Pumpkin Lasagna

Three things happened to make this the perfect recipe for me to make over the weekend. The first thing actually happened a few months ago when my 19 year old daughter announced that she was a vegetarian. It was really no surprise, although I have seen her wolf down an order or two of chicken nuggets. She has always preferred veggies, even when she was little, dipping her carrots in ranch dressing. Sounds a little like a Hidden Valley Ranch commercial, n’est pas? At any rate, it’s not a huge deal for me, except that now I was on the lookout for vegetarian recipes.

The second thing happened when my friend, Michelle Cadieux Tibbs, posted a pumpkin lasagna recipe on FaceBook. Her mouthwatering description of it on her status update prompted a comment from me and she was nice enough to provide me with the details.

Interestingly, the lasagna recipe was made in a crock pot, which brings me to the third thing: I won a brand new digital crock pot from the lovely Liz Brooks over at  Examiner.com. It arrived just about the same time I printed out the recipe! Karma. It had to be made.

Isn't it a beauty?

Truth be told, the original recipe was called Chèvre & Pumpkin Lasagna (chèvre being goat cheese, for the uninformed). My daughter might have tried goat cheese, but I knew my husband wouldn’t go for it, so that was my one modification. Here is the recipe as written:

Chèvre Pumpkin Lasagna

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 large onions, halved and cut into thin slices
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, divided
1 teaspoon dried ground sage
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon flour
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, divided
1 can (15 oz) 100% pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/3 cup finely chopped pine nuts
¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided
12 lasagna noodles, cooked and cooled in cold water
8 oz fresh chèvre, broken into small pieces (I used ricotta cheese)

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Yum--I love onions.

Add the onions and cook slowly until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add three-fourths of the garlic, 1 teaspoon of the salt, ½ teaspoon of the pepper, the sage, thyme and flour and stir until the onions are thoroughly coated.

I mixed the flour and spices in a cup first.

Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the broth and stir until slightly thickened. Stir in the vinegar and half the parsley and set aside.

This is where I started whifting the smell up with my hands like they do on the Food Network.

Mix the pumpkin, eggs, breadcrumbs, pine nuts, 1/2 cup parmesan, and the remaining parsley, and garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium mixing bowl.

Coat the interior of the crock of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Spoon a fourth of the onion mixture over the bottom of the crock, top with 3 lasagna noodles, a third of the pumpkin mixture, and a third of the chèvre.

Spoon a third of the remaining onion mixture over the chèvre, top with 3 more noodles, half the remaining pumpkin, and half the remaining chèvre. Spoon half the remaining onion mixture over the chèvre, top with 3 more noodles, the remaining pumpkin, the remaining chèvre, and the remaining onion mixture. Top with 3 remaining noodles. Cover the crock with 2 kitchen towels and the lid. Cook for 3 to 4 hours on low. When the lasagna is done, the edges will be browned and the center will be barley set.

Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and cover until melted, about 1 minute. Remove the crock from the cooker and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Cut into 8 portions and serve.

Now here is where I goofed up. This new crock pot is awesome because it is digital--you can set the time and it will switch over to the warm mode when the time runs out. Well, the instructions call for 3-4 hours on "low" and this crockpot switches to "high" if you go under 7 hours. Of course, instead of just keeping it at 7 hours and manually turning it off after 4, I set it on high. The result was some pretty burned edges. Really, though, it didn't matter---it turned out fantastic! Both my husband and my daughter raved.

Now, only three more cans of pumpkin to use.....