Healthy Living Mexican Lasagna With Cottage Cheese Recipes

MEXICAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Brown turkey, drain (if necessary).
• Add seasoning packet, onion, tomato sauce and salsa.
• Simmer 5-7 minutes.
• Combine cottage cheese and egg in small bowl.
• Spray 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
• Assemble lasagna in the following order: 1/2 meat mixture, 1/2 tortillas, 1/2 cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 cheese, repeat.
• Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.
• Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

MEXICAN COTTAGE CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare a 13" X 9" baking pan by spraying with cooking spray.
• Spray cooking spray on a large nonstick skillet and place over medium heat. Stir in the ground beef or turkey and cook for 5 minutes or until no longer pink.
• Transfer the ground beef or turkey to a medium bowl. Wipe skillet with a paper towel. Spray another coat of cooking spray onto skillet and place over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to pan; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Stir into the ground beef or turkey in the bowl.
• Combine cottage cheese, sour cream, peppers, cilantro (if using), cumin, and salt.
• Layer 1 cup of the salsa across the bottom of the baking dish. Layer half of the tortillas evenly over the salsa. Cover tortillas with half of the cottage cheese mixture. Layer on half of the ground beef or turkey mixture. Top with 1 cup of the remaining salsa and ½ cup of the Monterey Jack cheese.
• Repeat the layering sequence with the remaining tortillas, cottage cheese mixture, and ground beef or turkey mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining salsa and ¾ cup Monterey Jack cheese.
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through. If the cheese browns too quickly loosely cover with foil.

HEALTHY SPINACH & COTTAGE CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F Oil a 2-quart baking dish or lasagna dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Place the cottage cheese in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and blend until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce, and blend until smooth. Scrape into a bowl.
• Wash the spinach, and wilt in a large frying pan over high heat in the water left on the leaves after washing. Transfer to a colander, rinse briefly and squeeze out excess water. Chop fine (by hand or in a food processor), then stir the spinach into the cottage cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add enough lasagna noodles to cover the surface of the baking dish (for my rectangular dish, that's three lasagna noodles). Boil just until the pasta is flexible, about two or three minutes for no-boil lasagna. Using tongs, remove the pasta from the water, and drain on a clean dish towel. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish, and top with a layer of noodles. Top the noodles with a third of the cottage cheese mixture. Use a spatula to spread it evenly over the noodles. Top with 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce, and spread in an even layer. Sprinkle on 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan.
• Repeat these layers two more times, using up the cottage cheese/spinach mixture but retaining tomato sauce and Parmesan for the top layer. Cook one more batch of lasagna noodles, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan. Sprinkle on the bread crumbs, and drizzle on the olive oil. Cover tightly with foil, place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until bubbling. If you wish to brown the top, uncover and continue to bake until the top just begins to color, about five minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to sit for five to 10 minutes, and serve.