Angel’s Version of Lasagna Cupcakes

Last night I tried one of the recipes from my new 300 under 300 cookbook, the Lasagna Cupcakes.  First let me say that this recipe was a little more time consuming that what I normally make during the week so I suggest that you make it on the weekend or sometime when you are not pressed for time.  Of course, if you don’t have a 4 year old helping you this might not take as long and be fine for a weeknight meal.

They were good but they could be better. I found the lean ground turkey a little bland and the fat free ricotta cheese even more bland.  So I’m going to re-vamp the recipe to inject more flavors but hopefully not add too many more calories. I am going to add more spices, garlic, some roasted red peppers, and exchange the fat free ricotta for the low fat cottage cheese.  (If you like the fat free ricotta, feel free to use it but I didn’t care for the taste/texture of the fat free version.)  I also added just a little parmesan cheese and some panko crumbs to add some flavor to the cheese mixture.  And I thought a whole package of spinach was overwhelming; I will make it with less next time. Below is the recipe, after I’ve done some tweaking.

The original recipe said that each cupcake had 165 calories; I’m not sure how many calories my recipe contains.  I’m sure it’s more than this but not drastically more.

Angel’s Version of Lasagna Cupcakes

Olive Oil

Worcestershire Sauce
2 cloves garlic-diced
1 onion, diced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
12 oz lean ground turkey
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
¼- ½ package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (the amount of spinach depends on how much you like spinach)
1 ½ cups low fat cottage cheese or the fat free ricotta cheese
1-2 tbsp of panko bread crumbs, Italian Style
1 -2 tbsp Grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup egg beaters
2-3 pieces of jarred roasted red pepper (packed in water), diced
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt, pepper, garlic powder
24 small square wonton wrappers
1 ½ cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

·         In a large skillet, put 1 tbsp. olive oil and bring to med-hi heat.  Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms.  Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. And sauté for 4-5 minutes until they begin to get tender.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside. 

·         Add the ground turkey to the skillet and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning.   Cook and crumble until no longer pink

·         Reduce heat to low & add crushed tomatoes and the onion/mushroom mixture.  Simmer for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally.  Taste and season as needed.

·         While that is simmering, in a  large bowl combine the spinach, cottage cheese, 1/8 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, ½ tsp. garlic powder, 1/8 tsp. nutmeg, egg beaters, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and roasted red peppers. Stir to mix well.

·         Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick spray and press a wonton wrapper into each cup.  Put a blob of the spinach mixture in each cup.  Then a blob of the turkey mixture on top of that.  Smoothing the surfaces with the back of a spoon.   Top each turkey mixture with a tbsp. of mozzarella cheese.  Place another wonton wrapper into each cup, lightly pressing it down on the cheese layers and along the sides of the cup.  Repeat the layers and top with 1 tbsp. mozzarella cheese.

·         Bake in the oven until cheese has melted and edges are browned.  About 10 minutes

·         Allow to cool just a bit, and then transfer to a plate and serve.