Easy, Creamy, Low Calorie Butternut Squash Lasagna

My family decided to make a Butternut Squash Lasagna for Thanksgiving as our vegetarian main dish and I was not completely satisfied with any of the recipes I saw on Zaar. Some of them were too complicated or too high in fat and made with heavy cream or too low calorie and bland. So I took bits and pieces from each recipe and came up with this one. I originally made it in a 9x9 inch pan so I'm not completely certain about the following measurements. One serving is 1/4 of a 9x9 inch pan and has about 300 calories.

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 12  sheets  no-boil lasagna noodles (I use Barilla flat-rolled homemade style. There will be extras in the box if you use these)
• 1  small  butternut squash (peeled, seeded, and chopped into small bite sized pieces)
• 4  cups fresh spinach
• 2 (12 ounce) packages  frozen butternut squash puree (thawed)
• 15  ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
• 4  tablespoons asiago cheese (shredded) or 4  tablespoons parmesan cheese (shredded)
• 2  teaspoons asiago cheese (shredded) or 2  teaspoons parmesan cheese (shredded)
• 2  cups 2% mozzarella cheese (shredded)
• 1⁄4 cup skim milk
• 1  teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried garlic flakes (or to taste)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon dried shallots (or to taste)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  Italian herb seasoning (or to taste)
• 1  teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1  teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)

Directions

1. Components.
2. Butternut Squash.
3. Put butternut squash in a microwave save bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste (probably about 1/8 tsp each) and stir. Cover and microwave 6-10 minutes or until fork tender.
4. Squash "Marinara".
5. Wilt fresh spinach in the microwave using a covered microwave safe bowl. Add thawed squash puree. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp each).
6. Ricotta Mixture.
7. Combine ricotta and 1 tsp shredded asiago in small bowl. Add salt, pepper, italian seasoning, dried shallots and dried garlic flakes to taste (about 1/4 tsp each).
8. Cream Sauce.
9. In a small saucepan, over low heat, combine milk and 2 Tbsp shredded asiago. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste (about 1/8 tsp to 1/4 tsp each).
10. Assembly and cooking.
11. Spread a small amount of Squash Marinara on bottom of 13 x 9 inch pan. Place four sheets of uncooked lasagna noodles on top. Cover noodles with approximately 1/3 of remaining Squash Marinara, top with 1/2 of Ricotta Mixture, 1/2 of Butternut Squash, and 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella. Place four more uncooked lasagna noodles on top of this. Cover with approximately 1/2 of remaining Squash Marinara, all of the remaining Ricotta Mixture, all of the remaining Butternut Squash, and 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella. Top with remaining four lasagna noodles. Cover noodles with remaining Squash Marinara, all of the Cream Sauce, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, and 2Tbsp of shredded asiago cheese.
12. Loosely cover with foil and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Uncover and return to oven for 5 minutes of until cheese is bubbly on top. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes then slice and serve.