That just doesn't sound good to me. I am in the Julia Child camp as to butter where it's intended but cottage cheese and cream cheese in lasagna sounds awful!...unless it's layered with fruit and contains sugar and eggs!
For dessert in a small serving, but for dinner....no!

I'd never make a recipe like that as printed, even though it sounds delicious. Instead, I'd make my own fat reductions. I'm so used to eating lower fat versions of most recipes that the full fat approach rarely tastes good to me--unless it's ice cream, of course :)

If you want to see what all that fat-filled food does to Paula, check out the link and video below.

Bottoms UP!

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Paula At Her Very Best!!!

I did see an article somewhere that was talking about how the Food Netework chefs all saw themselves on television and promptly went on diets. Alton Brown is too thin, now, I think, his face looks gaunt, but I've noticed that Rachel Ray, Paula Deen and Tyler Florence have all lost a bit.

I always use cottage cheese in lasagna because my little grocery seldom stocks ricotta and it works fine. I've never put cream cheese in lasagna, but I normally use low fat cottage cheese and part skim mozzarella and grass fed beef and no one complains. Plus, I don't want to muck up the flavor of my good beef and home made pasta and sauce from homegrown tomatoes with too much salt and fat!

So, would I throw caution to the wind and make this dish as written? Maybe, if I had company coming and it was a one-time holiday kind of splurge, but otherwise, no.

I avoid many/most Paula Deen recipes for exactly that reason, the amount of fat/grease/butter/cheese/etc. in her recipes is astounding and far beyond anything I'd be comfortable making or serving on a regular basis.

Annie

Here is the recipe. I took it off the foodnetwork site.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lady& sons' lasagne.

Well, that linked video of Paula really had me laughing!
And I think it makes her look like she is LOSING weight!
I haven't watched her show for some time now,
But I really do think she looks like she has shed some pounds.

As for the Lasagna recipe,
Yes, I would make it.
It sounds really good, I think!

All the fats
(except that in the beef),
Are actually fairly 'healthy' fats,
As opposed to margarine, vegetable oil, etc.

Eat like that on a daily basis?
No! Definitely not!
But a meal like that,
OCCASIONALLY
isn't going to 'jeopardize' the health of anyone.

Unless they already have some health issues.

Rusty

I wouldn't make it because it doesn't sound appealing to me, but I have made other PD recipes as written. Do I make them daily or even weekly or monthly? No! But once in a while if one of her recipes catches my eye I will make it (and don;t tell anyone, but I usually cut back on the fat no matter what). Actually, I don't think I have made one of her recipes since Christmas when I made the Steakside mushrooms.
Actually, we are having a couple of neighbors over this afternoon for a post blizzard happy hour and I am making the following recipe - except I couldn't find cream of shrimp soup (what the heck is that anyway???) so I am going to use some really reduced clam juice and throw the shrimp shells into the juice to add some flavor as it reduces. I will probably fiddle with it to get the consistency right since I have no idea what the shrimp soup does for the texture.....

Shore Is Good Seafood Dip
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Ingredients
⢠2 tablespoons butter
⢠1 medium green bell pepper, diced
⢠1 medium onion, diced
⢠2 stalks celery, diced
⢠1/2 of a 10 3/4-ounce can cream of shrimp soup (discard top half and use bottom part of soup)
⢠1 cup mayonnaise
⢠1/2 pound freshly grated Parmesan
⢠1 (6-ounce) can crabmeat, picked free of any broken shells, drained
⢠6 ounces shrimp, fresh or canned, drained
⢠1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion, and celery and saute for 2 minutes. In a bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, Parmesan, crabmeat, shrimp, and pepper. Stir the sauteed vegetables into the seafood mixture and spoon this mixture into a lightly greased 8 by 11-inch casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with toast points or crackers.

Alex,
Sounds a heck of a lot like "cupa, cupa, can" hot artichoke dip. I would just make that with the extras veggie ingredients. I don't think the cream of shrimp soup will add anything to this. I would also add a drop or two of liquid crab boil.

Campbell's used to make a Cream of Shrimp soup.

Don't know if it is still on the market or not.
I'd think it would be in bigger cities,
Not here.

Rusty

Thanks Rusty - I am not far from Philly, but the store manager (she is YOUNG) had no idea about the C of Shrimp soup either.

Jo - I have some Bubba Gump Shrimp Boil, so I will probably add a bit of that and just skip the soup or clam juice completely. Thanks for the suggestion.

And looking at this recipe, since I use only low fat Hellman's, and it only has 2 tbsp of butter, AND I am leaving the soup out it won't be nearly as much of a heart attack as some of her recipes.

I'll report back on how it turns out.

A

Jo, I think your intuition is correct. Just looking at that oily picture makes me naseous.

Cheese is hardly a "healthy" fat. If memory serves, ricotta has about 10 grams of saturated fat per 1/2 cup and cheddar cheese and cream cheese aren't too far behind. Their total fat content is even more! I just don't get recipes like this one. There are so many easy effective ways to cut the fat in this and still have a delicious lasagne. I'm not saying cut it to 0, but you could probably easily cut the fat in half with little change in taste. And even if it did change the taste some, it's well worth it to cut out all the nasty.

Make it for a special occasion meal at a buffet where no one (should) take more than a 1/2 slice? Maybe. But to serve my family and have leftovers - no way. Why train their taste buds and bodies to expect overly fatty foods? There are plenty of healthier option.

AM

Alexa - I saw that episode and made the dip a few years back. At the time I used Campbell's, but I'm not seeing it available on my online grocer now. Regardless, I wasn't impressed and no one else raved either. I never made it again. I'm sure with your fiddling you'll come up with something good though.

If I were going to make that kind of caloric investment, no way I'd muck it up with cottage cheese!! :-P

On the recipe that started this thread:

Cheese (I'll assume cheddar): about 300 cal and 30 gram fat
Cream cheese: about 100 cal and 10 gram fat
Cottage cheese: about 20 cal and 1/2 gram fat

So a serving is roughly 35 gram fat (add a little for the other ingredients).

Two servings is pretty much your fat for the day.

My thinking - if you are good on portion control, it is fine.

I am the one who made (and posted about) that PD lasagna recipe and it was delicious. It served more like 12 people rather than 8.

I like cottage cheese in lasagna.

This is not something would I make on a regular basis. I've made it exactly once, but yes, I would make it again.

Linda

Linda, I, for one, am glad you posted that recipe.
I am definitely going to try it soon!
I know my family will enjoy coming over for a 'critique'.

As for cottage cheese in it,
almost every recipe I have ever seen for Lasagna
suggests using it if Ricotta isn't available.

As for fat grams, portion control, etc,
"Moderation in all things".

Rusty

I didn't check cholesterol and sodium, but by my calculations one slice is 65% total fat and 135% saturated fat per slice, based on 2000 cal diet. That was using whole fat cheeses and 93% lean beef. I suppose it's ok for an occassional meal if you're not concerned about weight. For me though it's extremely rare to find one serving of anything a substantial meal, so I think I'll just pass on this one!

Linda, as I mentioned above, I always use cottage cheese in lasagna.

Not being a huge fan of cheese, I have to tell you, I've had it with ricotta and I've had it with cottage cheese and I can't tell the difference by the time you add all the meat, tomato sauce, pasta and mozzarella. (shrug)

Annie

I can tell the difference......

I can't imagine ever eating cottage cheese ever, so I wouldn't make that! If I see something that just looks incredibly indulgent, I'll usually look for a different recipe unless that's what I specifically want. I don't try to make unhealthy/fattening food healthy... I either go all the way or not at all.

That video was crazy.... as I watched it, I exclaimed GOOD HEAVENS, MY WORD, and LAND SAKES ALIVE out loud! And I'm all alone! Part two was even better, go Paula! It's great to have a sense of humor!