Zucchini Lasagna

The best thing about changing my eating habits has been experimenting with new foods. I never understand how versatile most vegetables can be --substituting cauliflower for rice, spaghetti squash for noodles, and now replacing lasagna noodles with zucchini!! Veggies are kinda cool, huh? And low and behold they taste good, too! ;)

The original recipe can be found at Skinnytaste. My recipe and directions are altered slightly from hers. To make this dish a little healthier I used ground turkey instead of beef and left out the parmesan cheese.

Ingredients:

 - 1 lb ground turkey

 - 3 cloves garlic

 - 1/2 onion

 - 1 tsp olive oil

 - salt and pepper

 - 5 zucchinis, sliced lengthwise (depending on size. ours were a little small so I had to do 5)

 - 15 oz ricotta cheese

 - 1 log mozzarella cheese, sliced thin (or buy shredded) 

 - 1 can of your favorite spaghetti sauce

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan, brown meat and season with salt. When thoroughly cooked, drain and set    aside. Add olive oil to pan and sauté garlic and onions for about 2 minutes. Add meat. Simmer on low for about 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, slice zucchini lengthwise. (I used a mandolin to do this, which gave me thin, even slices) Lightly salt and set aside for 10 minutes. The salt helps take some of the moisture out of the zucchini. After 10 minutes, blot excess moisture with a paper towel.

Next, if you have a grill, follow the original recipes instructions for grilling the zucchini. If you're poor like me (jk..) and don't own a grill, you can broil your zucchini on high for about 4 minutes or until cooked. I placed the zucchini on a wired cooling rack and placed a cookie sheet under it (not a flat one, it needs to have sides) to catch any excess moisture.

Preheat the over the 375 degrees.

In a 9x12 casserole dish, spread some sauce on the bottom and layer the zucchini to cover. Then place some of the meat mixture on top, followed by ricotta, mozzarella, and more sauce. Repeat the process until all your ingredients are used up. Top with sauce and more mozzarella if you wish.

Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes.

Trust me, you won't miss the noodles one bit!! This tasty, gluten free alternative to lasagna is a healthier option without compromising the taste. Now get cooking!! And enjoy...