Tomato & Pepper Meat Lasagna

A few months ago, I posted a recipe for Tomato & Pepper Lasagna (click here for the original, vegetarian recipe).  While the lasagna was delicious (and had less calories and fat), Andy and I thought that adding meat to the sauce would make it heartier and more filling.  Here's the revised recipe for Tomato & Pepper Meat Lasagna.  Enjoy!


Tomato and Pepper Meat Lasagna
Kate Strickland & Andy Jennings
Servings: 8, Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 8 

• 24 oz marinara sauce (this is a little over a standard size jar of sauce)
• 1 c canned diced tomatoes, fire-roasted, drained
• 1 c part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 c shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c fat-free egg substitute
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 6 items dry lasagna noodles
• 1/2 c roasted red peppers, water-packed (aka pimento peppers, in the canned veggie aisle)
• 16 oz (1 lb) sausage/hamburger meat, 6% fat or less

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Brown sausage over high heat on stovetop
3. In medium pot, combine marinara sauce and tomatoes; simmer for 10 mins
4. Add sausage to marinara sauce, making meat sauce
5. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses; stir
6. Stir in egg substitute, salt, pepper, and oregano into cheese mixture
7. Spoon 1 c meat sauce in bottom of an 11 x 7 inch glass baking dish (it needs to be a deep dish, 2 inches, preferably)
8. Arrange 2 lasagna noodles over the sauce, down the center of the dish
9. Spread half of cheese mixture (appr. 1 c) over noodles
10. Top with roasted red peppers/pimentos
11. Place 2 more noodles on top
12. Spread remaining cheese mixture on top
13. Top with 1 c marinara sauce
14. Place last 2 lasagna noodles on top
15. Spoon remaining sauce over top and gently press down
16. Cover dish loosely with aluminum foil, bake for 40 mins
17. Remove foil, bake until sauce is lightly browned and noodles are tender (appr. 8-10 min)

Tomato & Pepper Lasagna

Lasagna has long-time been a comfort food in homes everywhere.  Everywhere except my home.  Don't get me wrong, I had plenty of comfort foods.  My list included porkchops and rice, chicken fajitas, steak and baked potatoes, roast and mashed potatoes, hash, and sugar cookies.  This list does not, if you've noticed, include lasagna.  In fact, the only lasagna I remember eating as a child was at my Uncle Richard's house.  I always thought it was delicious and must've taken hours of preparation until one day I found out that it was from Aisle 12: Frozen Foods.  It was Stouffer's.  Make no mistake about it, it was still delicious, but my ideal image of Uncle Richard slaving over marinara and noodles for hours in the kitchen suddenly dissipated.

Although I didn't grow up eating lasagna, I have always loved it on the occasions when I did pop the Stouffer's kind in the oven.  I decided to try one for my own last night.  This one didn't have any meat in it, and I think that next time I will add some sausage to the marinara, but it was still easy and yummy.  Best of all, I could prepare it in my free time during the day and just kept it in the refrigerator until about an hour when we were going to eat dinner.

Tomato and Pepper Lasagna
Kate Strickland
Servings: 4, Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 12 

• 24 oz marinara sauce (this is a little over a standard size jar of sauce)
• 1 c canned diced tomatoes, fire-roasted, drained
• 1 c part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 c shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c fat-free egg substitute
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 6 items dry lasagna noodles
• 1/2 c roasted red peppers, water-packed (aka pimento peppers, in the canned veggie aisle)

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. In small pot, combine marinara sauce and tomatoes; simmer for 10 mins
3. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses; stir
4. Stir in egg substitute, salt, pepper, and oregano
5. Spoon 1 c sauce in bottom of an 11 x 7 inch glass baking dish
6. Arrange 2 lasagna noodles over the sauce, down the center of the dish
7. Spread half of cheese mixture (appr. 1 c) over noods
8. Top with roasted red peppers/pimentos
9. Place 2 more noodles on top
10. Spread remaining cheese mixture on top
11. Top with 1 c marinara sace
12. Place last 2 lasagna noodles on top
13. Spoon remaining sauce over top and gently press down
14. Cover dish loosely with aluminum foil, bake for 40 mins
15. Remove foil, bake until sauce is lightly browned and noodles are tender

Lasagna was super hard to take a picture of, but I did my best!