Recipe: Tofu Lasagna (low carb)

Tofu Lasagna (Low Carb)
Rec.food.recipes/AprilJones/2001

1 lb. firm tofu
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 lb. pork Italian sausage
1/2 cup onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar (26 oz.) Classico Tomato Alfredo Sauce
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
crushed red pepper to taste
1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach
handful fresh basil leaves
1 (15 oz.) container of ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 lb. mozzarella cheese

Cut the block of tofu into thin slices and place the slices between sheets of paper towels. Try to absorb as much moisture as possible, pressing down on the tofu and changing towels of necessary. These are to be the "lasagna noodles". Trust me it works. Saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil in the pot you plan to make the sauce in. Add the ground beef and sausage: cook until the pink is gone. Add the jar of sauce, the mushrooms and seasonings. Throw in 1/2 red wine if you like. Let this simmer about 20 -30 minutes. Season to taste.

Thaw the spinach and squeeze out the excess moisture. Add the chopped basil to the spinach. Set aside. Combine the ricotta cheese with the egg and the Parmesan cheese, Set aside. Now to assemble the lasagna...I use a 12x8-inch pan, if you don't have one use a 13x9-inch. Pour about 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan. Place 1/2 of the tofu slices on top of the sauce. Cover the tofu slices with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture. Place 1/2 of the spinach/basil mixture on top of the ricotta. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese over the spinach. Repeat the layering. There should be 2 layers of the tofu, cheese and spinach and 3 layers of sauce. Atop the last layer of sauce sprinkle mozzarella cheese to cover. Bake at 350F for about 1 hour. Let set about 10 minutes before cutting.

Makes 8 nice servings
The carb count is 102 for the dish, about 12 grams per serving

I use Trader Joe's herbed tofu at 2 grams per serving, the fiber is also 2 grams per so if you use effective carb count you could subtract 10 grams from the total count. I use extra lean ground beef because I believe the fat in the pork sausage is enough for this dish.