HOMEMADE WHOLE WHEAT NOODLES (AND LASAGNA)

Do you ever find that whole wheat pasta can taste grainy, and let’s be honest – a little bit GROSS! This is Julie here, and I’m the one with the high tolerance for healthy food, yet I can barely stomach whole wheat noodles at times. Well when I discovered how DELICIOUS and easy making whole wheat pasta could be, I was hooked.

Awhile back, I shared that I was making lasagna on our facebook page. A lot of you asked for the recipe, and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get to this post. Anyhow, whenever I make lasagna now, I make the noodles using whole wheat. I don’t use any special pasta maker either! I just use a regular old rolling pin. The great thing about lasagna noodles, is that it doesn’t matter if they come out looking fancy, you just layer them anyways so you can mess up a little on the format!

In this video, I show you how to make my favorite – spinach whole wheat noodles- (recipe from grandma lori!) using wheat ground from my Wondermill. I’m also copying a recipe for regular whole wheat noodles (without spinach) that I have tried and love as well. You can try with the regular one first, then when you’re feeling brave go for the spinach noodles. They taste great, and even my dad ate them – he’s pickier then most children.

Sorry there are no pictures of the cooked product. I ended up bringing the lasagna to my parents house to prove to my dad how yummy healthy can be. He loved it, and we ate it before I remembered to pull out my camera.

Here are all the recipes for an incredible homemade, and HEALTHY lasagna. If you’re feeling up to it, try making the sauce from scratch too. This is not the type of lasagna that will make you feel heavy and bloated after. Oh I want some right now!

HOMEMADE LASAGNA

Ingredients:
Cooked lasagna noodles (12 noodles)
Marinara sauce of your choice
Ricotta cheese or Cottage cheese
Grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:
In a 9×13 pan spread small layer of marina sauce at the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of cooked noodles to cover the pan. Spread a layer of sauce, ricotta or cottage cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat for 3 layers. Cook at 350 for 40 minutes.

HOMEMADE SPINACH WHOLE WHEAT NOODLES

Ingredients:
8 ounces of fresh spinach (1 package: 10 ounces frozen spinach can be substituted)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour (I used 1 cup semolina flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour)

Directions:
Wash spinach and cover and cook with just the water that clings to leaves until tender (3-10 minutes). Rinse spinach with cold water; drain. Place spinach eggs, 1 tablesppon oil and 1 teaspoon of salt in blender container. Cover and blend until pureed, about 20 seconds.
Make a well in center of flour, add spinach mixture. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Let stand 10 minutes. Divide dough into halves. Roll out each half, cut strips. Cook in boiling water until tender.

HOMEMADE WHOLE WHEAT NOODLES

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C semolina flour
1 1/2 c freshly ground whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1/4 c water
1/4 c olive oil

Directions:
Combine semolina and flour and salt. Beat eggs lightly. Mix eggs, water and oil. Stir in to four mixture until a stiff dough forms,. You may need to add a little more flour. Knead 10 minutes or until elastic. Let rest, covered for 20 minutes. Roll out thinly. Cut into desired shape or shape with machine. Cook in boiling, salted water for 2-5 minutes.

HOMEMADE MARINARA MEAT SAUCE

Ingredients
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes (I used a bottle of garden tomatoes)
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup finely diced onion
OPTIONAL:
Add 1 lb of ground beef or ground turkey (can use canned beef)
Add 1/2 zucchini cut into small chunks

Directions:
In a food processor place Italian tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped parsley, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. In a large skillet over medium heat saute the finely chopped onion in olive oil for 2 minutes. Add the blended tomato sauce, and optional meat and veggies. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Try these recipes out and let me know how they go. Don’t be afraid of substituting the noodles in your own favorite lasagna recipe. They really are great, and aren’t nearly as hard as they sound! Good luck 🙂