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Vegetarian

Spinach Lasagna: An Easy Meal for a Return to Busy Nights

August 22, 2021 By Anna Lutz 2 Comments

The quarantines of the pandemic have led to many people appreciating more simplified schedules. For me, it’s seemed to have the opposite affect. I’ve come to appreciate more the activities that my children are involved in and have missed them over the last year. I’m excited about this fall’s prospect of busier weeks and the kids benefiting from sports and other after school activities. 

Making a Loose Plan Can Decrease Stress

As my children return to school and activities, and I add my youngest to the bunch as she enters Kindergarten, we are suddenly doing a lot of schedule juggling. I’ve found over the years, if I have a busy week of afternoon and evening activities, it helps my overall stress level to have a loose plan for dinners. I typically will look at the week’s calendar and plan 3-4 dinners for the week that I can pull from, depending on how each day is going.  Meal planning doesn’t need to be rigid and looks different for different people and families. Check out one of our first podcast episodes, where Elizabeth and I discuss our approach to meal planning.

This past week was my kids’ first week of fall sports. Suddenly, we had evenings with sports games and practices. I honestly had not done as much meal planning over the past year, because of the monotony of the pandemic, I believe. Looking at the week ahead, I knew I needed some kind of a plan, or I’d be scrambling each night. As I made a dinner plan for the week, a tried-and-true recipe came to mind, spinach lasagna. I hadn’t made this recipe since probably the beginning of 2020. It’s a favorite dish of the house, but I think about it as a “go-to” meal when I need something we can pull out of the fridge and heat up during a busy week. That hasn’t been a scenario over the last year. I suppose that is why I haven’t made it in so long. 

A Great Recipe to Prepare Ahead of Time

I typically will put the lasagna together on the weekend or after dinner one night to be eaten later in the week.  It can be cooked right before eating or cooked ahead of time. I think it tastes even better heated up a day later! There is usually enough for 2 dinners for my family of 5. I typically will pair it with a bagged salad kit, fruit, or microwave in the bag green beans. Also, the kids love the lasagna cut into small pieces and put in a thermos for lunch. Sometimes, I will make one recipe split between 2 square pans and freeze one of the pans for a future busy week. This is a great recipe to get the kids to help with! And a great way to expose more selective eaters to spinach. 

I grew up eating this recipe and always loved it! My mother says the original recipe is from the Irregardless Cookbook, a restaurant in Raleigh, NC. As she made it over the years, she made it more and more simple and the recipe has transformed to what it is today.

Simple Assembly

To assemble, add lasagna noodles to boiling water. We use whole wheat lasagna noodles, as they hold up well reheated and add fiber to the meal. Regular lasagna noodles are great, too!

As the noodles cook, combine defrosted (in the microwave) frozen spinach, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and eggs. Preheat your oven to 350 F. 

Pour a small amount of jarred spaghetti sauce to the bottom of a 9″ x 13” pan. 

Place 3 lasagna noodles on top. (This photo is from layer number 2, that is why the cheese is showing!)

Scoop ⅓ of the spinach mixture on top of the noodles. 

Pour about ⅓ of the spaghetti sauce on top of the spinach mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. 

Repeat the layers 2 more times. Cover with aluminum foil. Cook at 350 degrees for 45 min, remove foil, and cook for another 15 minutes. 

Let sit for 10 min before serving.  Or, let cool and keep in the fridge to be reheated the next day. 

What’s on your “go-to” meal list?

For more of our “go-to” meals click the links below:

  • “Go-to Meals” – Your Plan B
  • Garlic Shrimp with Feta – A New “Go-To” Meal
  • “Go-To” Meals – Part 2
  • “Go-To” Summertime Meals

 

 

 

 

Print

Spinach Lasagna

Print Recipe

Simple vegetarian lasagna. Great reheated!

  • Author: Anna Lutz
  • Prep Time: 20 mins.
  • Cook Time: 60 mins.
  • Total Time: 80 mins.

Ingredients

1 package of frozen spinach

2 eggs

3/4 c ricotta cheese

1 5-6 oz. package of shredded parmesan cheese

1 8 oz. package of shredded mozzarella cheese

9 lasagna noodles

1.5 24-ounce jars (36 ounces total) of spaghetti sauce (I use Classico brand)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
  2. Cook 9 lasagna noodles according to package.
  3. Combine thawed spinach, ricotta, eggs, 1/2 parmesan in a bowl.
  4. Coat bottom of pan with sauce.
  5. Place 3 lasagna noodles in bottom of pan.
  6. Spread 1/3 of spinach/ricotta mixture on noodles.
  7. Pour 1/3 of sauce on top of spinach mixture.
  8. Sprinkle mixture with parmesan and mozzarella cheese (about 1/3 of what is remaining)
  9. Repeat layers 2 more times.
  10. Cover with foil.
  11. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 15 minutes more.

 

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Filed Under: Dinner, Family Feeding, Lunch, Recipes, Vegetarian, Weeknight Meals

15 Minute Lentil Ragout

May 5, 2021 By Elizabeth Davenport Leave a Comment

When was the last time you packed lunch for your kids? For me, the date was March 15, 2020. Then, last week, when my 13 year old started back to school in-person/hybrid, I went back to packing lunch. I’ve grown used to making lunch at lunch time, or simply setting out items for my kids (ages 13 and 17) to reheat or leaving them to scrounge around the kitchen to put together lunch on their own. It’s going to take awhile to get used to post-pandemic schedules. On my daughter’s second day back to school, I realized a few minutes before she needed to leave that I’d forgotten to pack her lunch! Because I happened to have a batch of my 15 Minute Lentil Ragout and rice on hand, I was able to reheat it and fill a thermos in just a few minutes!

If you’re like me, you’re always looking for simple, new lunch ideas. I thought I’d share the recipe with you, since one of my go-to lunch items is lentils and rice and having a batch on hand saved me last week.

This quick and easy Lentil Ragout has a hint of summery tarragon and a splash of Champagne vinegar to add brightness to the dish. It tastes great over rice or farro. Sometimes, I top it with grated cheese or toasted pecans or a poached egg. The ragout also makes a great side dish for my Mustard Roasted Salmon.

You can see here just how easy it is to make my 15 Minute Lentil Ragout! Don’t want to chop the onion, celery, carrot and garlic? You can buy them pre-chopped at most grocery stores.

Do you feel stressed about packing lunches? Try our simple lunch packing formula:

Simple lunch packing formula

Would you like more tips to de-stress your lunch packing routine? You can purchase our E-book: Your Ultimate Stress-Free Guide to Packing Lunches here.

If you love lentils, you’ll love my Lentil Salad recipe that also uses the Trader Joe’s steamed lentils.

What’s your favorite lentil recipe? 

Print

15-Minute Lentil Ragout

Print Recipe

This tarragon and Champagne vinegar infused lentil ragout takes only 15 minutes to make. It tastes great paired with rice or farro and it makes a great Thermos lunch.

  • Author: Elizabeth Davenport

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 celery stick, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 small onion, diced

1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon Red Diamond Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon

1 container of Trader Joe’s steamed lentils

1 1/2 cups water or vegetable or chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon (or a splash) of Champagne vinegar

Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

  • Peel and dice the carrots, onion and garlic. Dice the celery.
  • Add olive oil to a medium sauce pan. Add the chopped veggies and turn the heat on to medium.
  • Add 1 teaspoon Red Diamond Kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon.
  • Stir the ingredients together and sauté for 5-10 minutes or until the veggies begin to soften just a bit.
  • Add the package of Trader Joe’s steamed lentils to the pan. Break them apart with a spoon. 
  • Add freshly ground pepper.
  • Add 1 1/2 cups water, turn the heat up to medium high and bring to a low boil. Cook for 5 minutes. 
  • Add 1/2 teaspoon of Champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar). 
  • Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Notes

Serve over cooked rice or farro. The lentils are also great topped with grated cheese or your favorite toasted nuts or a poached egg. 

Did you make this recipe?

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Filed Under: Dinner, Family Feeding, Featured Posts, Lunch, Vegetarian

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