Ingredients :
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef, I used Trader Joe’s 96% fat-free ground beef
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
- 1½ cups mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 1 cup zucchini, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 6 dried whole wheat or whole grain lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces, see shopping tip
- 23-26 ounces jarred pasta or marinara sauce, I used Prego’s Heart Smart Traditional pasta sauce (23.5 oz jar)
- 2 cups water
- ¾ cup fat-free cottage cheese
- ½ cup light mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions :
1. Cook ground beef in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat, breaking into pieces, until almost cooked through, about 4 minutes. No need to drain meat if using extra lean beef. If not, drain meat and return to skillet.
2. Stir in garlic, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until vegetables are soft. Stir often.
3. Sprinkle broken lasagna noodles into the skillet, then pour in pasta sauce and water over top.
4. Cover and cook. Adjust heat as necessary to maintain a vigorous simmer, until noodles are tender (about 20 minutes).
5. Remove skillet from heat. Dot tablespoons of cottage cheese over noodles then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover and let skillet stand off heat until the cheeses melt (about 5 minutes).
6. Cut into 8 slices and serve. It does get a bit messy on the plate but is so, so good!
