Meat and Veggie Lasagna

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     It’s been a rough week at work. Four day weeks are fantastic and horrible at the same time. They are great because of the three day weekend and four days makes for a short work week. They are horrible because after having a three day week the students often have difficulty coming back to school. So it’s been a tough week for some of my students.

     Dinner this week has been fairly easy so far. On Sunday I went to my parents, then Monday and Tuesday we had leftovers from my parents. On Wednesday we had a frozen pizza. By Thursday I was ready for a good home-cooked meal; preferably one that would last two nights so I wouldn’t have to cook again until I had some time this weekend.

     My go to meals are always pasta. I love the fact that pasta is so simple to make yet so filling and delicious. My standard two day pasta meal is lasagna. It’s a pain to make, but worth the trouble. Last time I made it I made vegetable lasagna which was very tasty and my husband enjoyed, but he said he missed the meat in it.

     I mixed the spinach and carrots into the ricotta cheese mix and put the onion and tomatoes in with the sauce and meat. The lasagna ended up being really tasty! It was so filling that we had it for dinner two nights and lunch one day. It also satisfied my need for vegetables and hubby’s need for meat. This is a great meal for using up veggies that are in your refrigerator. You can really add any vegetables to this lasagna as long as you cut them up and sauté them before adding them.

1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2-4 chopped tomatoes (if desired)
2 jars Barilla Marinara sauce
1/3 c. red wine
1 container ricotta cheese (15 oz.)-I like to use Maggio Premium Part-Skim Ricotta
3 c. part-skim mozzarella cheese (divided)
1 egg
2 c. vegetables, chopped (my favorites are carrots, spinach, and mushrooms)
½ c. Parmesan cheese
1 box Barilla Lasagne (no boil lasagna noodles)

1. In a large skillet brown the ground beef. When it’s almost fully cooked add the onion and garlic, stirring well.

2. Add 1 jar of the marinara sauce, the chopped tomatoes, and red wine to the ground beef. Stir until well incorporated. Cook on medium low while preparing the cheese mixture.

4. In a medium bowl beat the egg. Stir in ricotta cheese, ¼ c. Parmesan cheese, and 1 c. mozzarella cheese. Mix in vegetables and stir until well blended.

5. Turn the heat off under the ground beef mixture. Spray a 13 x 9 baking pan with cooking spray.