In her own words: "Whatever time of the day it is, look to this cookbook for recipes that will fill you up but not out — and whether you are trying to maintain your weight or just want to eat better." — Betty Crocker
What we made: LASAGNA CUPCAKES (Page 129)
(makes 12 170-calorie servings)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 jar (25.5 ounces) tomato pasta sauce (any variety)
2 cups frozen Italian sausage-style soy-protein crumbles
36 round pot sticker (gyoza) wrappers
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray. In small bowl, mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and egg. In another small bowl, mix pasta sauce and soy-protein crumbles.
2. Place 1 round wrapper in bottom of each muffin cup; top each with 1 heaping tablespoon pasta sauce mixture and 1 tablespoon cheese mixture. Repeat layers, ending with pasta sauce mixture. Sprinkle each with mozzarella cheese.
3. Spray large sheet of foil with cooking spray; place sprayed side down over pan. Bake 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Our assessment: These are fun and delicious. They pack well for lunch and reheat in the microwave in about 90 seconds. Some of our editors tried them and here is what they said:
"The cupcakes are delicious! Yum!" — Mary Irby-Jones, assistant managing editor
"Tasty lasagna filling, and what I love is that these 'cupcake' shells ensure the perfect portion sizes." — Michelle Fong, life and entertainment editor
"It's a lighter, easier-to-eat lasagna, perfect for a work lunch. It also looks impressive." — Samantha Sommer, news editor
"Loved the appearance and taste of the handheld lasagna. It was tasty, too! I'd definitely consider serving these at a party as a heavy appetizer or as an entree. " — Arundi Venkayya-Cox, news editor
We couldn’t find sausage-style soy-protein crumbles, so we used the plain kind and added our own mix of sausage-style seasoning: 3 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, each. Also, if you can’t find potsticker wrappers, use egg roll wrappers and fold them over the top. A cupcake-size serving is rather small, and it’s realistic to eat two servings. Another thing you can do is use extra-large muffin pans, which gives you two servings per cupcake.
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