Autumn Lasagna

Adapted from: http://thecozyapron.com/a-cozy-thanksgiving-autumn-lasagna-familiar-yet-different/

Courtesy of: the cozy apron

Made on: 10/29/14

Yield: I separated mine into two square casserole dishes to freeze, and they were very full.

INGREDIENTS

For the Creamy, Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Sauce:

- 1 head garlic, top cut off

- Salt, to taste

- 1 large butternut squash

- 2 tsp Italian seasoning

- 3 cups chicken broth

- 1 cup milk (I used almond)

- 4 ounces cream cheese (I used fat free)

- ½ cup Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

For the Lasagna:

- Olive oil for cooking the turkey

- 1 lb ground turkey

- 1 tsp Italian seasoning

- ½ tsp salt

- ½ tsp black pepper

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 3 tsp sage

- 1 box lasagna noodles, cooked (I used whole wheat)

- Creamy, Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Sauce (see above for ingredients and below for instructions on how to make that)

- 4 cups fresh spinach leaves

- 3 cups mozzarella cheese (For some of this, I used a mozzarella/provolone mix that I had in the fridge)

- Parmesan cheese, enough to sprinkle on top

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Sauce:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

2. Wrap the head of garlic tightly in foil, and place it directly onto the rack of the oven (on the side) to roast. Meanwhile, slice your butternut squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place it, flesh side down, onto the baking sheet and put it in the oven with the garlic. Roast for about 45-60 minutes (depending on size), or until the squash is very tender. Once the squash is tender, remove from the oven, along with the head of garlic, and allow to cool slightly, so they can be handled;

3. Once cool enough to handle, peel the garlic and put in a large food processor or blender (I used a pitcher-size Ninja). Scoop the squash from the shell into the blender and pulse until pureed. Add the chicken broth and milk; pulse to combine. Add the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, parmesan cheese, salt, and any other seasonings you enjoy at this point. Blend it all together.

Note: You can make this sauce ahead of time and refrigerate it or freeze it as needed. You could easily find other uses for this, so if you end up with more than you need for this lasagna, freeze it! Or just eat it, I’m not judging.

For the Lasagna:

1. Preheat oven to 375, and grease two square baking dishes (if cooking immediately – I prepared mine in aluminum baking dishes and froze them)

2. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan. Begin cooking ground turkey in the pan; add in the Italian seasoning, the salt, pepper and the garlic, and stir to incorporate; cook the turkey for a few minutes until cooked through and no longer pink; remove from heat and stir in the fresh sage; set aside to slightly cool.

3. To assemble the two lasagnas, first split your sauce in half. Put a little sauce in the bottom of each baking dish, enough to cover it. Add a layer of lasagna noodles – I tore mine as needed to make them fit the square dishes. Add slightly less than half of the sauce to each dish, followed by a layer of half of the cooked turkey (about ¼ lb in each dish). Add a cup of spinach leaves (*Note – I missed this step, but I would probably have chopped up the leaves before adding them) to each dish. Next, sprinkle about ½ cup of mozzarella cheese in each dish.

4. Then start again. A layer of noodles, a layer of sauce, a layer of turkey, a layer of spinach leaves, a layer of cheese.

5. Add a final layer of noodles (I didn’t want to have leftover noodles, so I just put in any I had left at this point), then the rest of the sauce, then the rest of the mozzarella cheese. On top, sprinkle the remaining Italian seasoning and a little bit of grated parmesan cheese (because why not?).

6. To make immediately, put the lasagnas in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and lightly golden. Mine were very full, so I put a cookie sheet with sides on the rack beneath it. It didn't have to catch much, but I would rather be safe than smell burnt squash sauce every time I turn my oven on. To freeze, cover with foil, label, and store in the freezer. When you want to serve it, put it in the oven at 375 with foil on for about 1.5 hours; continue to bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until cooked through and melty. Alternately, you could put it in the fridge 24 hours in advance and bake it as originally instructed.

Adjustments I made: Apparently, lots! I made this while making other freezer meals after putting the kids to bed, so some adjustments are intentional, some are happy accidents, and some are, well, just accidents.

- I used all the noodles in my lasagna box because I hate having four lasagna noodles in my pantry. What do you do with those??

- The original recipe (OR) for the sauce called for mascarpone, which I didn’t have and didn’t plan to get, so I replaced it with fat free cream cheese and Greek yogurt. I don’t know what mascarpone tastes like, but that sauce was amazing.

- The OR also called for half and half, but I opted for almond milk. Again, I’m sure half and half made it creamier, but this worked just fine for me.

- I used less garlic in my sauce than the OR, purely because I misread it. Oops!

- I also used one large butternut squash rather than buying it pre-cubed – as long as you have the time and don’t mind spooning roasted squash out of a shell, it’s not really an issue. If you feel like buying the cubed squash, go for it!

- The OR cooked some of the sauce ingredients together on the stove, but in the interest of saving time and dishes, I used my Ninja to mix it all. If the cream cheese not mixing in becomes a problem, you could always cook it together or heat up the cream cheese ahead of time. I used less mozzarella cheese than the OR because I try to lighten up my recipes, and while cheese is always delicious, I find that it is frequently over-used.

- While assembling my lasagnas, I missed the step where you add the spinach, an error I didn’t notice until I had finished, put them in the freezer, and gone to bed. Yes, that’s what I think about at night – did I remember to add the spinach to that? Anyway, I tore up some spinach leaves and threw them on the top of it to bake on for the last 20-30 minutes, but I would definitely like to try it with more spinach really mixed into it.

Adjustments I would like to make: Next time, I’m definitely remembering the spinach and adding the right amount of garlic. Other than that, I don’t have much. Ooooh, mushrooms? Maybe I’ll add mushrooms.

Overall Satisfaction: AMAZING. Like, seriously delicious. I have tried butternut squash sauces before, and they never disappoint. One called for smoke flavoring and smoked paprika, and it was fantastic in a slightly different way. My point is, you can’t go wrong with that sauce. Put it on any pasta, make a risotto with it, serve it over vegetables, eat it with a spoon, whatever! The most remarkable thing about this was that my kids ate it. They weren’t knocking me down to get seconds or anything, but they ate what I gave them, which is the best feedback I can hope to get.

Would I Make it Again? Without a doubt. I have the second lasagna in the freezer to look forward to, and if my kids will eat it, I will make this again and again! Plus, you can’t deny how great it is to be able to pull something out of the freezer that you know is going to be great and not terrible for you, put it in the oven, and go about your business until it’s time to eat.

One of the lasagnas, right out of the oven. Please ignore the old, scarred up baking sheet I used to catch overflow.

My plate. Let's just go on pretending I didn't add more lasagna to that plate after I took the picture, OK?