If you are craving lasagna and you want a complete lean and green meal, then this is a great recipe! I really like the use of spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta and it works so well in this recipe. This casserole is layered with spaghetti squash, a ricotta cheese mixture, Italian seasoned ground turkey, diced tomatoes and mozzarella! You can easily make your out Italian ground turkey, but hubby had picked up some Jennie O Italian seasoned ground turkey from the grocery store so I decided to use that in this recipe. It was easily convenient and I didn't have to add any other seasonings to the meat which meant no additional condiments for the meat!
I used a 9" square casserole dish to assemble the casserole and then divided it up into four servings. One serving was for tonight, one is for tomorrow and two of them are in the freezer for later.
I have to say that this is going to be another favorite of mine that I will continue to make time and time again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Casserole
Slighty adapted from www.food.com
Ingredients:
4 lb spaghetti squash - you will only need 4 cups (8 Greens)
8 oz part skim ricotta (1 Lean)
8 oz reduced fat mozzarella cheese, divided (2 Leans)
2 tbsp egg beaters
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (2 Condiments)
2 cups Italian diced tomatoes with less than 5 g of carbs per 1/2 cup, divided (4 Greens)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (1/2 Condiment)
1/8 tsp salt (1/2 Condiment)
8 oz part skim ricotta (1 Lean)
8 oz reduced fat mozzarella cheese, divided (2 Leans)
2 tbsp egg beaters
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (2 Condiments)
2 cups Italian diced tomatoes with less than 5 g of carbs per 1/2 cup, divided (4 Greens)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (1/2 Condiment)
1/8 tsp salt (1/2 Condiment)
1/8 tsp pepper (1/4 Condiment)
2 tsp olive oil (1 Healthy Fat)
5 oz Jennie O Italian seasoned ground turkey 93%, cooked or make your own seasoned meat (1 Lean)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick squash with fork or metal skewer and roast in oven for an hour or until it seems soft when you press on it. Take it out and leave on the counter until cool.
When squash is cool, cut in half and scoop out the seeds and discard. Use a fork or spoon to scoop out the rest of the squash and set aside in a bowl. Measure out 4 cups of spaghetti squash and store the rest in the fridge. Add oil to a skillet over medium heat. Saute the 4 cups of squash for a few minutes until it begins to brown. Add garlic powder, salt and pepper, if desired.
Mix ricotta cheese, parmesan, egg beaters and 4 oz or 1 cup of mozzarella cheese together.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour 1 cup of the diced tomatoes on the bottom of a 9 inch or 8 inch square casserole dish and spread evenly. Add squash. Top the squash with the ricotta cheese mixture. Then top the ricotta cheese mixture with the cooked ground turkey. Spread 1 cup of diced tomatoes over the meat. Bake for 35 minutes. Spread the rest of the mozzarella cheese over the top (1 cup) and bake an additional 25 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly brown. Let rest for 10 minutes or so to serve.
4 servings with 1 Lean, 3 Greens, 1/2 Healthy Fat, and Less than 1 Condiment per serving
15 comments:
Thank you so much Sandy!! I was craving lasagna so I made some, and the result on my scale since I made it shows. This looks like a great alternative! I can't wait to make it. Blessings
Made this tonight, it was terrific! Thanks for all of the recipes, it sure makes MF easier.
Hi Sandy! Quick question. What brand tomatoes are you purchasing? I have looked in many different stores and have a hard time finding Italian seasoned canned tomatoes with 5g or less carbs. The closest is 6.
I have only had luck with generic brands such as Walmart's Great value brand. I also had luck with Albertson and King Sooper's brand. Try checking your local supermarket's own brand :)
I made this last night and loved it. I couldn't find Italian diced tomatoes, but found regular dice with only 3 hrs. And added a little Italian seasoning. Your recipes have made the TSFL so much easier to stay on plan. Thanks!
Sandy, do you have typo in your directions for the mozeralla? Twice you mention one cup but isn't a total of one cup and you use half in the mix and half on top? I did notice that your finished product looks a lot cheesier on top than mine does.
No, it is correct. 8 oz of shredded cheese is 2 cups so 1 cup is mixed with the ricotta cheese and 1 cup is for the top. This recipe is 4 servings so there are 4 leans: 8 oz of part skim ricotta is 1 lean, 2 cups mozzarella is 2 leans and the grount turkey is 1 more lean making it 4 leans total. I hope that helps :)
No, it is correct. 8 oz of shredded cheese is 2 cups so 1 cup is mixed with the ricotta cheese and 1 cup is for the top. This recipe is 4 servings so there are 4 leans: 8 oz of part skim ricotta is 1 lean, 2 cups mozzarella is 2 leans and the grount turkey is 1 more lean making it 4 leans total. I hope that helps :)
1 cup is 8 oz
That would be true if you were measuring liquids but for shredded cheese 1 cup is 4 oz. I know it can be confusing because I was confused myself at first. If you look on the package of shredded cheese, it should say 2 cups and then 8 oz on the bottom depending on which size bag you get. I hope that helps!
Sorry. I understand now. Well, I didn't but I got my cheese and weighed it and then measured it. You are right. I've been shorting myself on cheese for a long time. When I reheat this dish, I will add more cheese!
Just got mine out of the oven! I tripled the recipe. :) thank u!
Made this last weekend. The only problem was my husband ate half of it!
How do you count the egg beaters? I didn't see anything listed as to how you count them?
I didn't count the egg beaters because it is such a small amount. NS said we could have up to 2 oz of extra protein on occassion without throwing off our weight loss. If you wanted to count it then it would be 1/16 of a Lean.
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