There are many versions of this dish out on the Internet but I’ve adapted this one from a few of my favorites and tried to put my own healthy spin on it with italian turkey sausage. Also my red sauce is a simple can of diced tomatoes that cost less than 60 cents. I embellish the tomatoes with fresh garlic and Italian seasoning that I purée with an immersion blender in the can. If you think that might get too messy pour the can into a blender. The fresh garlic gives a lot of flavor to the dish.

For the other sauce I brown the Italian turkey sausage with mushrooms and onion. I add a thickening agent like flour which I did for this dish. Then I stir in sour cream and fresh spinach. I use a whole 12 ounce bag for this dish.

While I’m doing all of this, the dish in which I’m going to bake the lasagna which is 9″ x 12″, I’ve laid the pasta criss cross and poured boiling water over them to soak. By the time you’re ready to assemble the dish they are soft enough to finish cooking in the oven. The thing that I had always disliked about making lasagna was boiling the pasta first. This makes it so simple. 

I only use 6 pasta strips for this recipe. It all comes together quickly about 20 minutes time to prepare and thirty to cook in the oven. It reheats really well and in fact I usually have leftover lasagna that I then put in ramekins and put in the refrigerator. For a meal I simply put it in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-30 minutes and serve with a salad.

Lasagna
Prep Time 20 min
Cooking Time 30 min
Ingredients
10-15 oz. Italian turkey sausage (about 3-4 links)
4-8 oz. fresh mushrooms sliced
1 large onion diced
1 tbsp flour
1 cup sour cream
12 oz. fresh spinach
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with basil
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning
6 lasagna pasta noodles soaked in hot water for 10 min
2-3 cups of grated cheese (I used a blend of mozzarella and provolone)

Brown the sausage. Add the onion and sliced mushrooms. You want to cook these until they are soft and have some color. At this point add the flour and stir it in. Cook it a few minutes to get rid of the flour taste. Add the sour cream and spinach. It all comes together fast. Cook until the spinach has reduced. Remove from heat. Meanwhile purée the tomatoes with the garlic and seasoning. Remove the pasta from the baking dish and drain the water. Now you are ready to start assembling. First put a third of the spinach sauce on the bottom of the dish add a third of the red sauce.
Next add a third of the cheese,place three of the pasta noodles on top and repeat the process.

Finish with the last third of the two sauces and cheese. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for thirty minutes.

Remove from the oven when it is hot and bubbly and the cheese has a nice golden color. Let sit for 5-10 min for the sauce to settle or it will be runny. Enjoy.