Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Lasagna

Bacon. Yes, I said bacon. I've never been a big fan of the stuff, but can appreciate what this salty smoky food can add to the right dish. This one was no exception!

I was pleasantly surprised when I did some nutritional calculations for this dish and found it wasn't terrible. Although you're getting 27g of fat and too much sodium, you will get in some great vitamins (112% of your vitamin A for the day!) and 35% of your calcium for the day - all in one generous just under 500 calorie slice.

I found this recipe on a food blog and made a couple adjustments. Here's my version:

Butternut Squash Lasagna with Goat Cheese
serves 6

Ingredients:
6 slices of uncooked bacon
2 cups smashed roasted butternut squash (I actually had roasted and frozen some awhile ago and this was perfect for this dish once defrosted - but you could easily roast it right before as well.)
8 ounces soft goat cheese (not crumbles, but the kind that comes in a roll-shaped package)
1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 TB minced fresh sage, plus 2 sprigs of fresh sage
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
3 cups marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe's chunky marinara 25oz jar)
12 no boil lasagna noodles (or use regular and just soak in hot water first)
2 cups shredded mozzarella (use part skim if you can, I couldnt find any so mine was regular)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Fry the bacon in a nonstick frypan over medium heat until it crisps up. Remove to a plate covered with paper towel, set aside.
3. Remove leaves from the 2 sprigs of fresh sage and add to the hot bacon drippings after you remove the bacon. Fry for about 45 seconds til they crisp up. Set aside with bacon.
4. In a bowl combine goat cheese, ricotta cheese, egg, 2 T minced fresh sage, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
5. Prepare a 9x12 casserole dish with nonstick spray and add a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce to the bottom. Put a layer of lasagna noodles over the sauce (I fit 4). Spread 1/2 of the squash over the noodles, break up 2 slices of bacon and spread, 1/2 of the goat cheese mixture, 1/3 of the marinara and 1/3 of the mozzarella. Repeat another layer. Then top with a layer of noodles, then sauce and mozzarella.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with bacon bits from last 2 slices of bacon and fried sage. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition:
492 calories, 27g fat (13.4 saturated), 89.5mg cholesterol, 1151mg sodium, 330.1mg potassium, 38.6g carbs, 5.6g fiber, 8.6g sugars, 26.3g protein