Ina Garten's Tip For Turkey Lasagna Fixes A Classic Mistake
People love traditional Italian fare but, in an effort to make it leaner, substitute ground beef or pork with ground turkey. Unfortunately, working with ground turkey can often be difficult. Ground turkey contains more moisture than ground beef or pork, giving it a wet consistency. It can also get mushy and grainy when cooked and, being leaner, has less flavor. That certainly isn't what you're looking for when you're making turkey lasagna. Thankfully, Ina Garten has a hack for getting a lot more flavor into her version of the dish, which appears in her book "Barefoot Contessa Family Style" and on the Food Network. Her secret? Sweet Italian turkey sausage.
Using sweet Italian sausage not only allows Garten to add flavor to her lasagna, it also keeps it lean. A single link of sweet Italian turkey sausage contains approximately 9 grams of fat and 2.5 grams of saturated fat versus the 21 grams of fat and 8 grams of saturated fat you'd find in one sweet Italian pork sausage link. Although Garten removes the turkey from its casing before sauteing it with garlic and onions, the turkey holds its texture.
Read more: 7 Rules Of Fine-Dining Etiquette To Follow, And 7 You Can Completely Ignore
Ina Garten first cooks her onions and garlic, then browns the turkey. Then, she builds the sauce by adding tomatoes, tomato paste, fresh basil and parsley, and salt and pepper to the pan. Garten's turkey lasagna and her roasted vegetable lasagna both veer from classic recipes in a few other ways. For instance, Garten's recipe suggests blending goat cheese in with the more customary cheeses for an American lasagna, parmesan and ricotta. While you don't need to do this for this recipe, Garten often makes her own ricotta cheese. Garten also sends some shivers up the spine of lasagna traditionalists by soaking lasagna noodles in a large bowl of hot water for 20 to 30 minutes instead of pre-boiling them and slicing her mozzarella cheese instead of shredding it.
Even with the goat cheese and turkey, the recipe doesn't break Garten's rule for no more than three prominent flavors per dish. It's a great dish to prepare ahead of time, too. It may not be the lasagna your grandmother put on the Sunday dinner table, but judging by positive reviews from people who've made Garten's version, it's still delicious. For more from the Barefoot Contessa, check out these cooking tips from Ina Garten.
Read the original article on Chowhound.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scholarship celebration honors Black college-bound seniors
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — Hundreds gathered at a Bloomington church on Saturday to celebrate Black excellence in the classroom. The ceremony was held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 7, at Mount Pisgah Baptist Church. It was sponsored by the Mentoring and Providing Scholarships Program, a local non-profit that mentors black students to learn etiquette, financial literacy and public speaking skills. More than $80,000 in scholarships were awarded to Black college-bound seniors for their academic achievements and community service. 'The annual Joint Scholarship Celebration plays an integral role in celebrating the successes of African American students,' Carla Campbell-Jackson, co-founder of MAPS, said. 'The MAPS Program is invaluable for students, and for our community, as we are developing 'real time' leaders and thought partners, who will continue to make a difference locally, and beyond.' Money for the scholarships was gathered with the help of African-American sororities, fraternities, and community-based organizations. MAPS looks to help students prepare for the professional world with important skills such as public speaking, said Shaun Harden, one of the students who received several scholarships. 'MAPS has been really great, especially for professional development. For instance, one of our previous sessions was about public speaking,' Harden said. 'We talked about how we were able to approach the stand and how we were able to address the audience properly, how to avoid filler words, a lot of different proper speaking things that you don't really get to learn other than through experience.' Local philanthropists also contributed to the scholarship fund, which helped raise more money for African American students looking to pursue higher education. Keynote speakers for the event included NAACP Image Award Winner and WMBD Summer Intern Bradley Ross Jackson and Teresa Haley, who shared some information and advice with the students. 'I learned that if you work hard, if you stay strong and determined, and continue to try to do your best and give back to the communities that have supported you, that you will eventually be rewarded in the end,' said Gabrielle Johnson, the president of the Bloomington-Normal NAACP Youth Council. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Burial service to be held June 9 for Gravette WWII soldier killed in D-Day invasion
GRAVETTE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — After more than 80 years, a Northwest Arkansan hero is returning home. Private Rodger Dean Andrews, a World War II soldier from Gravette, will be laid to rest with full military honors at 2:00 p.m. Monday, June 9, at Bethel Cemetery in Gravette, according to the Benton County Sheriff's Office (BSCO). His remains, recently identified after decades of uncertainty, will arrive in Northwest Arkansas the evening of Sunday, June 8 and be received by Epting Funeral Home in Bentonville. On Monday, the BCSO Motor Division will escort Private Andrews to his final resting place, joined by Military Honors and the Patriot Guard. The procession will depart Epting Funeral Home (709 N. Walton Blvd, Bentonville) at 1:15 p.m. and follow this route: South on N. Walton Blvd Right on SW 14th Street (Highway 102) Right on Highway 59 through Decatur Right on Bethel Road in Gravette Left into Bethel Cemetery 'Community members are encouraged to line the route and pay their respects to honor the life and service of Private Rodger Dean Andrews, a true American hero,' BSCO said in a Facebook post. HISTORY: Grant Hardin's 12-day escape joins the state's most infamous escapes The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced in a news release on October 2 that U.S. Army Private Rodger D. Andrews, 19, was accounted for on June 5. Andrews was assigned in June 1944 to Company C of the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion in the European Theater. On June 6, 1944, American, Canadian and British forces came ashore on the beaches of Normandy in France during Operation Overlord. The release said that at some point during the battle, Andrews was killed, but due to the chaos, it is not known what happened to him. Private Rodger Dean Andrews' remains were recovered after D-Day but went unidentified for decades. In 2014, his family requested renewed efforts. A belt with his initials helped prompt a review, and in 2019, the remains were exhumed. Scientists confirmed his identity through dental and anthropological analysis. A rosette will now mark his name at the Normandy American Cemetery. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during her remarks at the 2025 Memorial Day Observance at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock that U.S. Army Private Rodger D. Andrews, 18, will be laid to rest at a family plot on June 9, more than 81 years after his death. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNBC
18 hours ago
- CNBC
I'm a psychologist who studies couples: Here's what people fight about the most in relationships—and No. 1 will surprise you
Even the happiest couples encounter conflict. But what they fight about reveals a lot about what's missing in the relationship. As a psychologist who studies couples, I've found that there are many similar topics that come up again and again. And the first step to resolving the conflicts is to know what those topics are. According to a YouGov poll of 1,000 American adults, and based on my research, here are the most common reasons couples fight — and the psychology behind each one. A sour tone or attitude — a slightly raised voice, a sarcastic comment, an eye-roll mid-conversation — is by far the most common reason couples fight. To the person exhibiting it, it might not seem like a big deal. But to the partner on the receiving end, it hits a direct nerve because it signals contempt. In marital research, contempt is one of the most reliable predictors of divorce. Unlike overt criticism or stonewalling (shutting down emotionally), contempt disguises itself with non-verbal gestures and body language. How to move past it: Resist the impulse to strike back. Fighting fire with fire never works, so try naming the effect instead: "That felt condescending. Can we try again?" This gives your partner the chance to course-correct, and it doesn't instantly escalate things. If you're the one delivering the tone, check in with yourself before saying anything more. Are you feeling unheard? Frustrated? Overwhelmed? Pinpointing what's fueling the contempt is the first step to expressing yourself without hurting the relationship. Arguments about family relations often reflect fundamental misalignments and unmet needs. One partner might feel unsupported or sidelined, especially if their spouse seems to default to defending their side of the family. In situations involving children, arguments usually boil down to value clashes — where each partner feels like their core parenting beliefs are being dismissed. Neither partner is "right" or "wrong" in these scenarios. In fact, they're more than likely seeking the exact same thing: someone who's on their side. How to move past it: A good place to start is to reassure one another. For example: "I love my family, but you're still my partner. How can we find a solution that meets both of our needs and values?" Then talk about your limits as a team: what to do when a line is crossed, or how to show solidarity in front of others (even when you disagree privately). People often assume that arguments about chores are about the chores themselves — the dishes left in the sink, the laundry piling up, the trash that never gets taken out. But if that were true, these issues could be quickly fixed with a simple chore chart. Rather, the real problem is the uneven distribution of labor. According to research, one partner in a relationship usually shoulders the bulk of domestic work. But they aren't just folding the clothes and cooking the meals, they're also managing appointments, coordinating the bills and keeping mental tabs on everyone's well-being but their own. This "invisible load" goes largely unacknowledged, and that lack of recognition is usually where the fight starts. How to move past it: This dynamic can often be changed if the load is named out loud. Even just saying, "I didn't realize how much you were holding, thank you," gives your partner the acknowledgement they've been needing to hear. From there, work together to redistribute tasks in a way that feels sustainable. Fairness won't look like a 50/50 split every day, but it should feel like something you both have a hand in. This is one of the trickiest arguments to navigate. In many cases, by the time couples are arguing about they talk to each other, the original issue has likely already been lost in translation. For example, one partner is upset about an unfair distribution of chores, or they're frustrated with how their in-laws treat them. But when these concerns are brought up, research shows they can quickly go off the rails when the other engages with them ineffectively — or with hostility. If the conversation is met with defensiveness, criticism or stonewalling, the fight will shift its focus from the initial issue. Instead, it becomes a matter of how poorly the conversation is going. How to move past it: One simple strategy successful couples use is the "five second rule": They have a designated word or phrase that signals: "We're spiraling, let's take a time-out." This gives a much-needed pause, without the negative effects of storming out. When you return to the conversation, try to see eye-to-eye before continuing to air out your grievances: "I want to understand why you're upset, and I want you to understand the same for me. You share your side, then I'll share mine."
