Recipe of the Week – Zucchini Lasagna

Recipe of the Week…

Zucchini Lasagna

It is Zucchini season, and if you’ve ever grown them in your garden you know that you always have more than you know what to do with. So here is a tasty recipe that uses up all those zucchini and puts a low carb twist on traditional lasagna.

Ingredients

• 2 large zucchini
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup tomato paste
• 1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• hot water as needed
• 1 egg
• 1 (15 ounce) container low-fat ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a deep 9×13 inch baking pan.
• Slice zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices. Sprinkle slices lightly with salt; set aside to drain in a colander.
• To prepare the meat sauce, cook and stir ground beef and black pepper in a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Add in green pepper and onion; cook and stir until meat is no longer pink. Stir in tomato paste, tomato sauce, wine, basil, and oregano, adding a small amount of hot water if sauce is too thick. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer sauce for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Meanwhile, stir egg, ricotta, and parsley together in a bowl until well combined.
• To assemble lasagna, spread 1/2 of the meat sauce into the bottom of prepared pan. Then layer 1/2 the zucchini slices, 1/2 the ricotta mixture, all of the spinach, followed by all of the mushrooms, then 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Repeat by layering the remaining meat sauce, zucchini slices, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella. Spread Parmesan cheese evenly over the top; cover with foil.
• Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil; raise oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

*Recipe Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/172958/no-noodle-zucchini-lasagna/print/?recipeType=Recipe&servings=8&isMetric=false

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