I'm not a Mom on tv, but I play one in Real Life.

I’ve been meaning/wanting to come up with a lasagna recipe similar to the one I used to make in the old gluten and casein full days of yore. I called it Cheeseburger Lasagna, made it in the crockpot, and probably offended every Italian going back to ancient Rome. It consisted of ground beef, jar spaghetti sauce, cottage cheese (ricotta if it was on sale), lasagna noodles, and lots of cheddar cheese (not a shred of mozzarella). The kids LOVED it. It was quick, easy and cheap – in other words PERFECT! Since Sean’s allergies eliminate almost all of the above ingredients, I’ve felt the task of creating a GFCF version that met my requirements (quick, easy and cheap) was too daunting. And so, I shelved the idea. Until tonite. I admit that I’ve been researching GFCF lasagne recipes for over a year and letting all that information percolate in noggin’. Finally it all came together. And what resulted was the PERFECT GFCF lasagna recipe!! Behold!

1.25 lb ground turkey
1.5 jars GF spaghetti sauce of your choice
1 package silken tofu
1 egg
1 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
1 package GF lasagna noodles*
1/2 package Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella, shredded**

Brown ground turkey in skillet, drain. In a 9×13 casserole dish, ladle a thin layer of spaghetti sauce. Reserve 3/4 cup of spaghetti sauce and set aside. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce in skillet with ground turkey.

In small bowl, whisk together tofu, egg, basil, garlic and black pepper until smooth and well blended. Place lasagna noodles in spaghetti sauce on bottom of casserole in one layer.

Spoon half of tofu mixture over noodles and spread evenly to cover all of the noodles. Sprinkle 1/3 of the shredded mozzarella on tofu. Spoon half the ground turkey spaghetti sauce over entire layer, being sure to cover all parts, especially any exposed noodles.

Repeat tofu, mozzarella, ground turkey layer. End with noodles. Take reserved spaghetti sauce and carefully pour over top noodle layer, making sure to cover all noodles completely. Sprinkle remaining third of mozzarella over top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. After removing from over, let set for at least 15 minutes. If you don’t, you’ll end up with lasagna soup!!! Trust me here!

*Note: It is not necessary to boil the lasagna noodles. However, it is crucial that all noodles are completely covered with sauce or else you are going to have one crunchy lasagna! Garfield would not approve!!

**Note: You’ll notice in my picture what looks suspiciously like shredded cheddar cheese on top. That would be because I ran out of mozzarella and had to pull a last minute substitute! Flexibility in the kitchen is your biggest asset!!

I would like to note here that the kids LOVED this!! I mean, fought over who got the last piece even though they each had three to four helpings, LOVED IT!! And yes, I had a piece. And it was divine! In fact, I think it even tastes better than my original. And I did not think that was possible. Best of all, the kids are thrilled that lasagna is back in the weekly repertoire!