Whole Wheat Lasagna with Ground Turkey

I grew up with my mom making the best Italian food.  Sauces from scratch and no measurements, all by hand.  Kids always in the kitchen helping and tasting as food was being made.  The tradition continues with my own take on lasagna.  My sister and the girls all in the kitchen stealing tastes and chatting as I cooked.  A perfect way to spend an afternoon!  I doubled the recipe to freeze a lasagna for the crazy hectic day that is in our future and will be made a little better by some warm comfort food.

Whole Wheat Lasagna with Ground Turkey

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) package of whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 (16 ounce) package of ground turkey
1 1/3 cups cottage cheese
3/4 cup (6 ounces) cream cheese softened
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste (2-3 grinds for us)
4 garlic cloves chopped
2 large eggs
1 jar of pasta sauce (26 ounces), we use a basil sauce
olive oil for oiling the pan
1 cup of shredded cheese

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Oil 13 x 9 inch pan.  Set aside 1/2 cup pasta sauce
2. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.
3. Brown and crumble ground turkey over medium heat until completely cooked.  Add pasta sauce to the turkey except for the 1/2 cup set aside.  Simmer covered over low heat until warmed then turn off and uncover.  
4. In a large bowl thoroughly combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese and ricotta.  Stir in the parmesan, salt, pepper, garlic and eggs until combined.
5. Spread 1/2 cup reserved pasta sauce in the bottom of oiled pan.  Place 3 noodles over the sauce.  Top with 1/2 of the cheese mixture and 1/3 of the meat sauce.  Place 3 more noodles over the sauce.  Top with 1/2 of the cheese mixture and 1/3 of the meat sauce.  End with three noodles and top with remaining 1/3 meat sauce.  Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.  
6. Cover pan with foil and cook for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and cook 10 minutes.  If you want a a nice bubbly top with bits of brown broil for 1-3 minutes watching that it does not over cook!  Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Hearty Eggnog Pancakes with Eggnog Whipped Cream

My children discovered eggnog over the holidays.  They love the taste so much that I decided to make pancakes with the leftover nog.  The first attempt was too sweet for us and left us hungry shortly after.  I forgot that using only all-purpose flour does not make as hearty of a pancake!  And eggnog is sweet so no need to add any more sugar.  We stuck to our roots adding whole grains in the next attempt and loved them.  A hearty pancake with a touch sweetness and hint of eggnog.  Since it wasn't overly sweet it only made sense to top with eggnog whipped cream!

Hearty Eggnog Pancakes with Eggnog Whipped Cream

Pancake Ingredients
1 cup uncooked rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
2 cups eggnog
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup oil

*note: You can use whole wheat white flour instead of a mix of whole wheat and all purpose.

Pancake Recipe

1. Blend the oatmeal in a blender until it resembles course flour.  Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (from oatmeal to nutmeg).
2. Add eggs, eggnog, milk and oil to dry ingredients.  Mix until combined.  If the batter seems too thick add more milk a tablespoon at a time.  It should be thicker, not runny
3. Heat large griddle to medium heat.  Drop pancakes in desired size.  We use around a heaping quarter cup for each pancake.  Flip when bubbles just begin to form on top top to brown the other side.  I noticed that the bubbles are harder to see with these
4. Serve warm with whipped cream or syrup if desired.  Enjoy!

Whipped Cream Ingredients

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup eggnog

1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Whipped Cream Recipe

1. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl.  Whip on high until stiff peaks form.  If you over whip (as long as no solid butter has formed) you can add a few teaspoons of heavy whipping cream and whip by hand.  The cream should be good again in a few seconds.
2. Refrigerate whipped cream that you do not plan on using immediately.