Italian Sausage Lasagna

Here's our family's favorite lasagna recipe. It's pretty quick to make (you use noodles that don't need to be boiled). It's healthier than many other lasagna recipes (uses less cheese but still feels decadent). And the sausage adds a lot of great flavor and makes this different than your average lasagna.

Italian Sausage Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb Italian seasoned ground turkey (Jennie O brand is great) or regular mild Italian sausage (or you can slice up chicken Italian sausage links)
1 onion, chopped
1 24 oz pkg of low fat small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp oregano
2 jars of your favorite tomato pasta sauce (my favorites are Classico Tomato Basil or Bertolli's Marinara)
12 oz box of oven-ready lasagna
2 cups of finely shredded mozzarella cheese Italian blend cheese
(optional - thinly sliced zucchini coins from 3-4 small zucchini)

Instructions:
1. In a large skillet, brown sausage with onion. Then add in 1 jar of tomato sauce.

2. While the meat is cooking, mix cottage cheese with 2 eggs, parmesan cheese, and oregano in a mixing bowl.

3. Spread 1 cup of red sauce on the bottom of a 9-13 pan. Arrange oven-ready uncooked lasagna noodles on top of pasta sauce in the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/2 of cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese on top of the cottage cheese layer. Spread 1/2 of meat and sauce mixture on that (then a layer of sliced zucchini if you like). Put on another layer of lasagna noodles on top. Repeat with the other half of the cottage cheese mixture, another 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, and the rest of the sauce and meat from the skillet (then another layer of sliced zucchini). Then do a final layer or noodles and spread the second jar of sauce on top of the noodles. Then spread the final cup of shredded cheese on top (can reserve a little of the meat to put on top with the sauce if you like).

4. Bake at 375 for 40 min covered with foil. Take off foil and cook for about 15 more minutes.