Zucchini Meat Lasagna #SundaySupper #ChooseDreams

Hi Everyone,

Today for #SundaySupper we teamed up with American Family Insurance to share with you old favorite and comfort food recipes turned into a healthy version. One of our favorite comfort foods is good old fashion lasagna. So I thought how can I take this family favorite and turn it into something healthy that the whole family will love? Why not sub the lasagna with zucchini? After all I have so many zucchini’s from the garden that I don’t know what to do with it! So today I share with you our new favorite pasta-less dish Zucchini Meat Lasagna.

This is one fatty, thick, delicious lasagna. It’s kind of like vegetarian lasagna meets meat lasagna. It really, by far exceeded my expectations and to boot, my family loved it! It’s made with fresh zucchini, spinach, sautéed mushrooms, lean ground beef and lots and lots of cheese. It’s a great low carb dish, and it’s gluten-free! It’s the perfect comfort food and perfect for using up the bazillion zucchini’s that I have! You Guys have no idea how many zucchini’s I have. My one plant turned into two and I must pick one or two zucchini from it everyday!

This dish takes a little bit of time to make, but well worth effort. It makes 8 big, filling slices and has enough cheese to make your heart scream! Yeah, I kind of like cheese! It’s super easy to make too! I cooked my ground beef with some onions and garlic, set it a side and then sautéed up some mushrooms. Yes, I used mushrooms again. Their kind of growing on me. Crazy I know. I did cheat and use jarred pasta sauce, and that’s ok! Sometimes we need to cheat a little. Then I layered everything with sliced zucchini, ricotta cheese, meat and mushrooms and of course topping it with mozzarella cheese. Yummy!! I think you will love this dish, just as much as we love it!

When making this recipe there are a few things you need to know. For the zucchini I used yellow summer squash, since that is what I am growing in the garden, but green zucchini would work great too. Also since I didn’t use noodles the zucchini can become a little watery, so don’t be surprised if you have quite a bit of liquid, but trust me you don’t notice when you eat it! Oh and get this, 8 HUGE slices is only 193 calories and 15 carbs! Woohoo! Guilt-free lasagna! I love it! Yes, with those stats I’ will be making this all summer long!

Zucchini Meat Lasagna

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Serving Size: 1 serving

Zucchini Meat Lasagna

A thick, hearty noodle-less lasagna made with zucchini, ground beef and lots of cheese. A perfect low, calorie, low carb pasta dish.

Ingredients

1lbs. ground beef, lean (I used 96/4)
1/4 cup onion, diced small
1/2 tbsp. garlic minced
8 oz. portobello mushrooms, sliced small
1 cup chicken broth, low sodium
5 cups zucchini, sliced about 1/4"
2 cups spinach, fresh
1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese, fat free
24 oz jar pasta sauce (used Roasted Red Pepper Sauce)
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded part skim

Instructions

In a large skillet, over medium heat; add ground beef, onion and garlic and cook until beef is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain the fat. Add beef to a bowl; set a side.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In the same skillet you cooked your beef in, add mushrooms and chicken broth. Saute over medium heat until mushrooms are tender and chicken broth has evaporated; about 10 minutes.
Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread about a 1/4 - 1/3 cups of pasta sauce to bottom of dish. Add 1 layer of zucchini to the bottom (cut zucchini in half if it doesn't fit), top with 1/2 the ground beef mixture, half mushroom mixture, half fresh spinach, top with half the ricotta cheese, top with another layer of zucchini and remaining ground beef, remaining mushrooms, remaining spinach and remaining ricotta cheese. Top with remaining zucchini and pour pasta sauce over the top and spread until evenly layered. Sprinkle top with mozzarella cheese. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 - 20 minutes until cheese is bubbly.
Let the lasagna sit for 5 -10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Calories per slice: 193, Fat: 4.5, Cholesterol: 51, Sodium: 617, Potassium: 381, Carbs: 15, Fiber: 3.2, Sugar: 6, Protein: 23

http://www.peanutbutterandpeppers.com/2014/06/22/zucchini-meat-lasagna-sundaysupper-choosedreams/

I have to tell you I am so pleased with this dish! It’s so easy to make, loaded with lots of flavor and is simply amazing and perfect for a family meal and for using up zucchini!

I highly recommend checking out the Family Favorites Turned Healthy #ChooseDreams Pinterest board:
board to get more ideas on fresh, beautiful, family recipes turned healthy. You can go here to check it out!!

You can also check out AM Fam Social Media Sites below:

Be sure to also check out the rest of the #SundaySupper gang to see what their family favorites turned healthy.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!

Toodles,

Jennifer

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This post is sponsored by American Family Insurance. All opinions are my own.

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