Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Clean Eating Petite Lasagnas

How amazingly cute are these little guys? Last night I was Stumbling around the Internet I came upon a cooking site where someone had bookmarked these gorgeous little lasagna bites.

I was instantly intrigued. I like Italian food. I like little personal sized portions. How cute would these be for a party? Then I scanned the recipe - it was essentially Clean!

Petite Lasagnas

recipe slightly adapted from Hungry Girl
(makes 12)
12 oz raw ground turkey
¼ tsp salt, divided
¼ tsp pepper
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped mushrooms
14.5 oz can organic crushed tomatoes, or organic / homemade tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp dried oregano, divided
½ tsp dried basil
1 ½ cups part skim organic ricotta cheese
24 small square wonton wrappers (the kind near the tofu in the refrigerated section of the produce dept - make sure you read the label to chose a brand that is simply made)
1 1/2 cups organic shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey, onions, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Crumble the meat and saute the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds.
Add the crushed tomatoes and 2 tsp of oregano. Bring the pan to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, a pinch of salt and pepper, the remaining teaspoon of oregano, and the basil. Stir to mix well. Set aside.
Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 wonton wrapper into each of the 12 cups, pressing firmly in the bottom of the cup and up the sides.




Using half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the 12 muffin cups. Next, using half of the turkey tomato sauce, spoon it evenly over each of the ricotta filled cups. Sprinkle with 2 tsp of mozzarella.


Gently press another wonton wrapper on top of the mozzarella layer.


Repeat the process by distributing the remaining ricotta, then the remaining tomato sauce, and finally the rest of the shredded mozzarella.


Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
Let the cups cool, remove them from the pan, and serve!


My inner Italian Girl gives a huge thank you to Can You Stay For Dinner? for this unique and Clean recipe - and the fantastic photography.