Changin’ It Up – Bison Lasagna

We’ve all taken a trip or two through the local supermarket meat department. Scores of different meat choices, freshly packaged and ready for purchase. But with so many choices available, most Americans tend to eat the same three meats – beef, pork or chicken, usually gravitating toward only a couple of different cuts of each meat and usually prepared in the same manner. Maybe it’s fear of change or of the unknown that keep people in their lane. Here is a recipe to help you shake up a little change in your regular diet. While buffalo is a very lean meat, it cooks up far more tenderly than beef or pork and with lower fat and calories and higher in protein and iron. Best of all, your family probably won’t even notice the substitution. What’s more, unlike other meats, bison is minimally handled, almost exclusively grass fed and the USDA actually prohibits the use of hormones in the production of bison meat. To learn more about bison go to http://www.bisoncentral.com/cooking-bison/nutrition-information.

Bison Lasagna

One pound ground bison
One small diced onion
One diced tomato
3-4 cloves minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried parsley
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, crushed or chopped finely
Two 8 oz cans tomato sauce
2 pounds freshly grated mozzarella cheese
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup freshly grated Romano cheese
packaged or fresh lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a pan over medium heat, combine bison, onion, tomato, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, thyme and rosemary. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned. Add in tomato sauce and bring just to a simmer. Continue simmering, stirring occasionally for around 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, combine together mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano cheeses.

In a 9×9 pan, begin layering with sauce, noodles, sauce, cheese and repeat until the pan is as full as it can be without the cheese running over the sides.