Lunch Planning

I don’t exactly do too many meal plans. I guess you could say that I just go to the store, buy what’s on sale and pray to the cooking gods that I have another ingredient at home to make whatever sounds good.

But I digress. I don’t plan dinners, I have to plan lunches. I only have one hour for lunch so I can’t exactly make anything too complicated. Omelets: yes. Black bean soup: yes. Grilled cheese: yes. Anything else, eh, maybe.

So here’s my plan for tonight. Make enough lasagna to cover 3 lunches. Here’s my proposed recipe (click here for original source):

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package uncooked lasagna noodles (about 9 noodles)
1 1/3 cups (6 ounces) fat-free cottage cheese
3/4 cup (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup (6 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (26-ounce) jar fat-free pasta sauce, divided
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese, and ricotta cheese in a large bowl; stir to blend well. Stir in Parmesan and next 8 ingredients (through egg).

Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over pasta sauce; top with half of cheese mixture and one third of remaining pasta sauce. Repeat layers once, ending with noodles. Spread remaining pasta sauce over noodles.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella; bake an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I think I'm also going to brown ground turkey and add it to the pasta sauce - that should give it some substance. Yum! I can't wait...

PSH