Pasta Roll-ups with Turkey and Spinach

This was really great as is, though I have to say I would have prefered it to have a more tomato sauce. Even something as simple as spagetti sauce. I plan on making playing with that in the future.

Serves: 8

Hands on time: 45 minutes (I found it really doesn't take that long.)

INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey breast
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes in juice
1 tsp salt
8 sheets dried high-protein or whole-wheat lasagna
1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 15-oz container non-fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Turn heat to medium-high and add ground turkey, breaking it up with a spatula until meat shows no sign of pink. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg, then add tomatoes and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, rinse and allow to cool in a colander.

3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Squeeze all remaining moisture from thawed spinach and place in large bowl. Add ricotta cheese, egg and a 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese to bowl. Stir until combined.

4. Spread 1 cup of cooked tomato sauce into bottom of a 9" x 10" casserole dish. Lay a cooked lasagna noodle flat in front of you. Use your fingers to spread 1/8 of ricotta mixture across the noodle and roll it up. Place the rolled pasta seam side down, into the casserole dish. Repeat with remaining noodles. Spread remaining tomato sauce over roll-ups, then top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.

5. Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes or until the rollups are browned and bubbly.

NUTRIENTS PER SERVING:
Calories: 234
Total Fat: 3 g
Sat. Fat: 0 g
Carbs: 27 g
Fiber: 5 g
Sugars: 7 g
Protein: 28 g
Sodium: 508 mg
Cholesterol: 76 mg

NUTRITIONAL BONUS:
One serving of these lasagna-style roll-ups gives you 90 percent of your vitamin A requirement and a healthy dose of calcium – 366 milligrams to be precise.

Spinach and Turkey Lasagna

This recipe is a great, healthy low calorie (fat) Lasagna. It's a favorite in our house. I do have to admit though, it doesn't get made often, because it does take some time to put together. Sometimes I will use the no cook lasagna noodles to avoid a step. That helps!

Spinach and Turkey Lasagna

Prep: 1 hour
Bake: 55 min + standing
Yield: 12 servings

3 tbsp butter
1/3 C flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
3 C fat free milk
3 Ounces reduced Fat cream cheese, cubed
¾ C Parmesan Cheese
1 Pd Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed and crumbled
1 med onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram
½ tsp fennel seed, crushed
1 jar roasted sweet red peppers, drained and chopped (7 ¼ oz)
½ C white wine, or chicken broth
2 packages (10 oz each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
¾ C small curd cottage cheese
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
9 lasagna noodles, cooked, rinsed and drained
½ C shredded part skim mozzarella cheese


In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boil; cook and stir for 1 – 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Stir in Parmesan cheese just until melted. Remove from heat; set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, cook sausage, onion and garlic over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Stir in oregano, marjoram and fennel; cook for 1 minute.

Add roasted peppers and wine or broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 3 tbsp. Remove from heat; set aside.

In a small bowl combine spinach, cottage cheese and nutmeg; set aside.

Spread ½ C reserved cheese sauce in a 13 in. x 9 in. x 2 in. baking dish coated with non-stick cooking spray. Top with three noodles, half the sausage mixture, half the spinach mixture and 1 cup sauce; repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Cover and bake at 375* for 40 minutes. Uncover, bake at 15-20 minutes longer or until heated through and top is lightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Nutrition facts: 1 piece equals 279 calories, 11 g fat, (6 g saturated fat) 43 mg cholesterol, 664 mg sodium, 27 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 19 g protein.