I *love* lasagna, and I really miss it. I love the flavors but if I’m having some grains, it is so NOT going to be on lasagna pasta sheets. But I got to thinking… what if I made it and just skipped the pasta part? Guess what – it is FANTASTIC and you really don’t miss the pasta at all.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 4-6 zucchinis *raw* sliced into strips (mandolin is a great tool to get this done)
- 1 jar favorite marinara/pasta sauce
- 1-2lbs ground meat seasoned with salt, etc. to taste and cooked (turkey, pork, beef – whatever!) ground sausage works too – and is seasoned for you!
- chopped grilled onions (mix with meat, this is optional)
- chopped spinach (mix in with onions/meat and let cook a bit, get any water to evaporate)
- 1 large container of ricotta cheese – add a teaspoon of salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1t onion powder, and 1t garlic powder to this
- 2-3 eggs (mix with ricotta cheese)
- 2-3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese to taste
- 1 tomato, sliced
- a few teaspoons of olive oil
To assemble you just lightly put a bit of olive oil and about 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom. Then a layer of the zucchini, ricotta cheese mixture, and meat mixture. Then repeat again. On top of the second layer of meat pour the rest of the sauce. Then, top with the zucchini, mozzarella cheese, and slices of tomato. Adding in a sprinkle of parmesan would be nice too – I forgot. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes and you are set!
The amount of cheese per serving can be minimal – it’s mostly just veggies + meat in there. The really cool part to me is it tastes just as good if not better – we don’t miss the pasta at all. Which is awesome because I’m totally questing to replace a lot of grains in my house and eat more unprocessed foods, veggies, and good stuff. You could sub in other squash and veggies that you like in here too – I sneak the spinach in as a bonus because my kids don’t notice it.
Happy (healthy) eating!