Ground Turkey Lasagna with a Quick Homemade Sauce YUM

Lasagna is my hubby's favorite meal so I love to make it for him as often as possible.  I try to make a healthier version with the ground turkey and I make it much quicker by not boiling the noodles.  I don't buy the no boil noodles, I just use regular old dry lasagna noodles.  I hate overcooked noodles and have found this works the best to still have that bite in your noodles after cooking your lasagna for an hour!  The trick is to make sure your your noodles are completely covered with sauce in every step.  I sometimes cheat if I'm in a hurry and use store-bought sauce.  I still saute onions and garlic with the meat and just add the store-bought sauce (plus an additional 1/2 cup of water) at that point.  The ground turkey makes it much healthier, but you can absolutely use a different meat such as ground beef or sausage...just be sure to drain before adding the sauce so it doesn't become greasy!!

Ground Turkey Lasagna

 

Ingredients 

1 package regular dry lasagna noodles  

1 pound ground turkey 

1 medium onion, finely diced

1/2 cup mushrooms, finely chopped 

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

8 ounce can tomato sauce

2- 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes

6 oz can tomato paste

2 Tablespoons italian seasoning

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley 

16 oz ricotta cheese 

4 cups mozzarella cheese, Shredded or finely chopped 

4 oz (1/2 cup) shredded fresh Parmesan cheese 

2 extra large eggs (Use 3 if smaller)

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add diced onions, mushrooms, and season with salt & pepper. Cook until soft and onions are translucent.  Add minced garlic and dried crushed red pepper and cook another minute or two.
2. Add the ground turkey and more salt & pepper and cook over med-high heat until browned. (If using store-bought sauce, add it at this point) Once browned, reduce heat to medium and add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning and tomato sauce. Season again with salt & pepper to taste.  Stir occasionally and cook for 15-20 minutes.  Add water when needed.
3. While sauce is cooking, in a medium to large mixing bowl combine ricotta, all but 1/2 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, eggs and fresh parsley (reserve a handful of parsley to garnish the top at the end).
4. Preheat oven to 350'F.
5. Spray a 13x9 inch casserole pan with olive oil spray and cover the bottom of pan with a layer of sauce mixture. 
6. Add a layer of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Lay the noodles side by side in the pan (not overlapping) They will expand when they are baked.
7. Take half the cheese mixture and lay it evenly over the noodles.
8. Now cover with another layer of the meat sauce over the cheese.
9. Repeat steps 6, 7 and 8 using the remaining cheese and more meat sauce, reserving some sauce for the top.
10. Add your last layer of noodles in the same fashion described in step 6. Top with the remaining sauce. Spread it out so there is no noodle uncovered.
11. Cover your lasagna with aluminum foil and bake in a 350'F oven. Bake covered for 45 minutes.
12. Remove foil and top with the reserved 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and parsley. Bake an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.
13. Let rest for at least 10 minutes and serve.