Meat and Veggie Lasagna

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full disclosure here.

     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 had ground beef in the refrigerator as well as a lot of vegetables that I had bought at the market over the weekend. I figured I’d combine two of my favorite recipes and make a meat and vegetable lasagna. I had spinach, carrots, an onion, and some homegrown tomatoes in the crisper that needed to be used by the weekend.

     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.

Meat and Veggie Lasagna

1 lb. Laura’s Lean Ground beef (93/7)

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.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

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.

6. Spread 1 c. of plain marinara sauce on the bottom of the pan. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the cheese mixture, ¾ c. mozzarella cheese, and half of the ground beef and sauce mixture.
7. Layer 4 more lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the cheese mixture, and 1 c. of the plain marinara sauce.
8. Layer 4 more lasagna noodles, the remaining cheese mixture, ¾ c. mozzarella cheese, and the remainder of the ground beef and sauce mixture.
9. Layer 4 lasagna noodles on top. Pour on the remaining plain marinara sauce. Top with ½ c. mozzarella cheese and ¼ c. Parmesan cheese.
10. Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and brown. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This post is linked to:
Foodie Fridays
Katie’s Cusina
Tasty Tuesdays

3 Comments

  1. Love lasagna, and I’ve never put veggies in mine – just beef – but this looks great! Maybe I can sneak in some of the veggies next time and no one will ever know!

    Thanks for sharing with Dr. Laura’s Tasty Tuesday!

    Dr. Laura

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *