6 servings 2 Better Balance Bites/Blue Points
Calories 250 Fat 4.6g Carbs 17.3g Fiber 5g Protein 31.7g
Ingredients:
· Cooking spray
· 1 large eggplant, about 1 lb (see notes)
· 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese, blended to resemble ricotta (see notes)
· 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
· 1 egg
· 2 cups crushed tomatoes
· 1 Tbsp dried basil, divided (see notes)
· 1/2 pound 96% lean ground beef
· 1/2 pound ground chicken breast (see notes)
· 1/2 tsp dried parsley
· 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
· 1/2 tsp garlic powder OR 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
· 1/2 tsp salt
· 1/4 tsp black pepper
· 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, ground or well crushed (see notes)
· 1/8 tsp onion powder
· 1/8 tsp paprika
· 1 cup shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
1. Position oven racks in the upper middle and lower middle of your oven. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Lightly coat 2 rimmed baking sheets AND a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Cut off the top and bottom of the eggplant. If you’re not a fan of eggplant skin, you can peel strips of it away so there are some strips of skin remaining to help the eggplant hold its shape. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, slice eggplant lengthwise into 1/4” slices and arrange the slices in a single layer on the 2 sheet pans. Lightly coat the eggplant with cooking spray and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper over the slices.
3. Roast the eggplant in the heated oven until it softens and becomes pliable, 15-20 minutes, flipping the slices over and swapping the positions of the pan halfway through. Remove the slices from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 375° F. (see notes)
4. While the eggplant roasts, combine the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, and about 1 tsp of the basil. Mix well. Then combine the tomatoes with the remainder of the basil. Set both aside.
5. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef, chicken breast, parsley, Italian seasoning, garlic (powder or minced), salt, pepper, ground fennel seeds, onion powder, and paprika (see notes), breaking up the meat with a spoon as it cooks. Turn off the heat, add in the crushed tomatoes, and set aside.
6. Once the eggplant has roasted, spread a thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.
7. Arrange a layer of sliced eggplant on top of the sauce. It’s best to lay them right-side up, then upside down, so a wider bottom is beside a narrower top. It’s okay if they overlap a bit. Spread half of the cottage cheese mixture over the zucchini/eggplant slices, followed by almost half of the meat sauce.
8. Repeat the layers of eggplant, cottage cheese, and meat sauce, reserving about 1/2 cup of meat sauce.
9. Layer on the remaining eggplant, followed by the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the final layer of sauce and spray the cheese with cooking spray to aid in melting.
10. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes.
11. Let the lasagna cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
· If you’d like, you can swap out the eggplant for large zucchini, but you would omit the step of roasting it separately.
· I find fat-free cottage cheese to be lower in bites and points, so that is what I choose. You could swap it for fat-free ricotta and adjust for any bites/points variation.
· You could use 2 Tbsp of fresh basil if you’d prefer, using 2 tsp in the cottage cheese and 4 tsp in the crushed tomatoes.
· You can swap out the ground chicken breast for ground chicken or turkey sausage and OMIT all of the seasonings following it.
· If necessary, you could leave out the fennel seeds, but they really do help create a sausage flavor.
· Feel free to adjust the ingredients or seasonings to suit your taste.
· This recipe is based on one that was generated using AI (Artificial Intelligence). For those interested, that recipe follows:
AI/ChatGPT Low-Point, Low-Bite Lasagna
This recipe makes 6 servings, each serving is 6 Weight Watchers points or Healthi Better Balance bites. Feel free to adjust the ingredients or seasonings to suit your taste.
Ingredients:
· 1 large zucchini or eggplant, thinly sliced
· 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
· 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
· 1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
· 1/2 pound lean turkey sausage, casings removed
· 1 egg
· 2 cups tomato sauce (no added sugar)
· 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
· 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef and turkey sausage until browned, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Mix well.
4. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5. Arrange a layer of sliced zucchini or eggplant on top of the sauce. Spread a layer of the ricotta cheese mixture over the zucchini/eggplant slices. Spoon a layer of the meat mixture over the cheese.
6. Repeat the layers of sauce, zucchini/eggplant, cheese mixture, and meat until all the ingredients are used, ending with a layer of sauce.
7. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the final layer of sauce.
8. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
9. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
10. Let the lasagna cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
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