The meal that has been feeding us all week

Don't be afraid to add some health to traditional recipes!  I've been on this puree kick for a couple months now, but am now venturing out and tweaking other recipes.  We really don't have a problem eating our veggies in this house, but I decided that if we could have more veggies and just toss them in everyday recipes, why not...?  I saw the Pioneer Woman on TV last month making the "best lasagna ever"- her words.  My mouth was watering looking at the finished dish, so I knew I had to try it.  Her site is awesome, with really good recipes and lots of laughs.  I imagine her life kinda like Paige's.  She fell in love with a real cowboy, moved to a ranch with him, and feeds him good food everyday.  Well anyway, I made some changes to her recipes for the health of it, and this lasagna turned out to be pretty dang good.  Still don't know if its the healthiest version, but lets take baby steps.

 Lasagna

1 1/2 lbs ground beef  1lb lean ground turkey (I use beef and turkey in my recipes, you just need to be conscious of the lean percentage vs. fat percentage in ground meats)  

1 lb hot breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean) next time I'll plan ahead and search harder for a healthier substitute

2 garlic cloves, minced  I always used dried, cheaper in the long run for me

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 teaspoon salt     

2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans whole tomatoes  substituted for petite diced no salt added, any other Wyatt boy not like tomatoes??

2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

3 cups cottage cheese  substituted for low-fat

2 eggs, beaten  only added 1 egg, you could probably get away with just an egg white

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

 1 pound mozzarella slices  used lower fat shredded

1 package lasagna noodles

1/2 cup pureed cauliflower, I added this to the cottage cheese mixture

1/2 cup sweet potato (ok, this I actually kept out of the sauce so we could have Mashed Sweet Potatoes on the side)    

I also drained all the fat from the meat, even if she said not to.  And substituted no-boil lasagna noodles, because lasagna already takes enough time to make.  See the link below for the full recipe, and amazing pictures with more instructions. 

 http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/the_best_lasagn/

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Boil a few potatoes until soft.  Take the skins off.  Cut up and mash.  We add nothing to them, they're so good alone.

A spinach salad with nuts or a darker leaf lettuce salad would also be a great side.  Just thought I'd share, because its nice to try something new and tweak recipes so they work better for you.