Sausage and Butternut Squash Lasagna

Hello! I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Mine has been pretty solid. Birthday celebrations, cleaning, laundry, reading, and getting back on track with Insanity(finally). Shaun T has been killing me! He's a ridiculous trainer. And to think, he was a former dancer...

(source) 

All in all, this week has been low key and productive...and needed. Big time.

I made this lasagna last night, and let me tell you- it is really great! I wasn't sure about making a lasagna without red sauce, and I really wasn't sure that Jeff would care for it at all. Two huge serving later- it proved me wrong.

I combined a few recipes and threw in a few ingredients of my own on this one. Jeff browned some hot Italian turkey sausage for me at his lunch break, so that saved me a bunch of time when I got home.

All I needed to do was cook my lasagna noodles and make the sauces, then assemble it. I used whole wheat lasagna noodles. SO much better than the regular!

While those cooked, I combined my sausage with some butternut squash puree. I got mine at TJs, but you could easliy roast one and puree it yourself (preferably on a weekend).  

I also added some chicken stock, salt, pepper, honey, basil and oregano. I spread 1/3 of the mixture onto the bottom of my casserole dish.

Next, I combined one package of thawed frozen spinach, cottage cheese, an egg white, parmesan, salt and pepper in another bowl.

I topped the sausage and squash mixture with 3 noodles, then 1/2 of the spinach mixture.

I topped that with another layer of noodles, then repeated the process, ending with the sausage and squash layer.

Next came a healthy serving of mozzarella- and I mean healthy.

I popped this into a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. It was the perfect amount of time to do Insanity and shower before the timer went off. We were eating by 7:30! That's rare for our house :)

Right when it got out, I topped it with some fresh parmesan and black pepper, and put it under the broiler. Jeff and I like crispy edges. Like this:

Mmmm....this may look heavy to some of you. It really isn't too bad! Turkey sausage, low fat cottage cheese, tons of spinach, and some mozzarella on top. You get all 4 food groups in this lasagna.

SAUSAGE AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA

1.5 cans butternut squash puree
2 cloves garlic, or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp each oregano and basil
1 package hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 10 oz package chopped frozen spinach, cooked and drained
2 cups cottage cheese, mixed with one egg white
12 cooked whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese, optional

Brown sausage, mix in butternut squash puree, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, honey, and garlic. Add a splash of chicken stock if too thick.

In another bowl, combine spinach, cottage cheese, egg white, parmesan (if using), salt and pepper. Place 1/3 of the squash mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 12" baking dish. Layer with 3 lasagna noodles. Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture over the noodles. Layer with 3 more noodles. Repeat, finishing with the squash layer. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 45 minutes at 350F.

If you want a crispier topping: Top with more parmesan and black pepper and place under broiler for a couple of minutes.

Comments

[Megan]

Looks delicious! I made a pasta toinght with butternut squash and sausage. Sounds similar..but yours looks better!