One of my husband's favorite comfort foods is lasagna, so this pasta dish, along with the Shepherd's Pie I wrote about last week, are two casseroles we make over and over again in our household.  True Italians may object, but I've taken the liberty to make a couple of changes to the classic.  I prefer to use cottage cheese rather than ricotta cheese — I like the meatier texture, and to me it has more flavor.  Classic lasagna is made with lasagne verdi, or pasta with added spinach.  To simplify, I just stir spinach into the cottage cheese.  I remember the first time I made lasagna with turkey, my husband thought it was sacrilege, but I dare say he's become a convert.

Trader Joe's now has no-boil lasagna noodles in the pasta section, and I hope they stay for good.  They're a great time-saver!  If you can't find no-boil noodles, you can soak regular lasagna noodles in hot water for 20 minutes (just soak in hot water; you don't actually have to boil them).  The noodles should be underdone so that they don't get soggy while the lasagna is cooking.

Most people know garlic bread as the kind that is literally dripping with butter with every bite.  I decided to experiment with a lighter version.  Our whole family loves olive oil - we dip, or DRENCH is more like it, crusty warm bread in fruity olive oil.  So I decided to substitute olive oil for some of the butter in traditional garlic bread.  I started out substituting just a little, and eventually dialed it up to half butter, half olive oil.  We were quite happy with the results and hope you enjoy trying this lightened version.

Turkey Lasagna

1 (1.3-1.4 lb) pkg ground turkey
9 sheets no-boil lasagna noodles
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (8 oz) pkg sliced mushrooms, optional
6 cups marinara sauce (about a jar and a half, or more if you like extra sauce)
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped, or 1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 (12 oz) pkg cottage cheese, or you can use ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Half of a 16-oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
3 cups shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat.  Add olive oil and onion.  Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add turkey and cook until browned.  If using mushrooms, add in last 5 minutes and cook, stirring frequently.
4. Add marinara sauce, basil, and sugar, and stir well.  Remove from heat.  You don't need to cook the sauce as it will cook in the oven.
5. In a bowl, mix cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, and spinach.
6. Cover the bottom of a 9"x13" baking pan with 1 cup of marinara sauce.  Add a layer of lasagna noodles.  Spread 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture evenly over noodles.  Pour 1/3 of the marinara sauce on top, and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese.  Top with another layer of noodles, cottage cheese, marinara, and mozzarella.  The final layer is noodles, the remaining marinara sauce, and mozzarella.
7. Bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.   Let lasagna cool for a few minutes before serving, so that it will hold its shape better (and your guests will appreciate not burning the roofs of their mouths to a crisp).  Garnish with additional chopped basil if desired.

Garlic Bread

1 loaf Italian bread
3 Tbsp butter, softened at room temperature
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed, or 3 cubes frozen Crushed Garlic, thawed
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil, or 2 tsp dried basil (you could use parsley if you prefer)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (optional)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice loaf in half down the middle, as if you were making a sub sandwich.
3. Mix together butter, olive oil, garlic, salt, and basil.  Spread evenly on both cut sides of bread.  Place both halves together again and wrap with aluminum foil.
4. Bake for 15 minutes.  I usually put the bread in after removing foil from the lasagna, so they can bake side by side.
5. Remove from oven, remove foil, and sprinkle cheese on insides if desired.  Return to oven, cut side up, for 10 minutes longer or until browned to your desire.  I let the bread toast while the lasagna is cooling, and guests are gathering.