Any noodle lasagna

     I love lasagna, but it is very hard to find whole wheat lasagna noodles. I figure if you are going to eat something hearty, it should be a little bit healthy. To solve this problem, I tried my friend's lasagna recipe using whole wheat spirals. It turned out great. No flavor change, though this is probably no big surprise for you.

     One mistake I made is that I forgot to layer in the mozzarella cheese. I realized this as I got to the top layer, so I dumped everything into a big bowl and mixed it all together. The mixture of sauce and ricotta created an unappetizing color, but the flavor was evenly distributed, and in the end it tasted delicious. Mixing everything in one bowl is definitely the easier way to go since you don't have to try to spread the ricotta onto the sauce, but it doesn't look as pretty. Do it whichever way you like. It still tastes great either way.

Begin 2-1/2 hours early!
1-lb sausage, hamburger, or shredded chicken (chicken is my favorite!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
16oz diced tomatoes, undrained
15 oz tomato sauce
2 Tbl dried parsley
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
9 lasagna noodles (or 1 box noodles of choice-I like rotini)
16 oz ricotta cheese
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbl dried parsley
1-1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 c shredded mozzarella
1/4 c grated parmesan

• Cook and stir meat, onion, and garlic in skillet until cooked through. Drain.
• Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, 2 Tbl parsley, basil, and 1/2 tsp salt.
• Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about an hour or until it's the consistency of thick spaghetti sauce.

• Cook noodles as directed. 
• Reserve 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture.
• Mix ricotta cheese, 1/4 c parmesan cheese, 1 Tbl parsley, 1-1/2 tsp salt and 1-1/2 tsp oregano.
• Layer 1/3 each of noodles, sauce, mozzarella, and ricotta mixture in an ungreased 13x9in pan. Repeat two times.
• Spoon reserved sauce on top. Sprinkle with 1/4 c Parmesan cheese. 
• Cook, uncovered, in 350* oven for 45 minutes. 
• Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.