Zucchini Lasagna

By 11650

Ingredients

• 1 lb of 97% fat free ground beef
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1/4 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can 8oz tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
• 2 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried)
• 1 carrot
• 4 small zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1 cup of low fat ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup of low fat mozzarella cheese + 1/4 cup for topping
• 2 egg whites
• 1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained completely

Preparation

Step 1

Cook the ground beef, onion and bell pepper in a dutch oven or large skillet over med heat. Cook and stir until meat is brown with no pink showing. Add tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, oregano and basil and bring to a boil. Add hot water is sauce is too thick. I always add a whole carrot at this point. (the carrot will remove the acid and after the sauce is done, just remove the carrot) Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes while you are grilling the zucchini slices.

The zucchini slices should be very thin, I used a mandoline. Place in a ziplock bag with just enough olive oil to cover each slice. Place slices on grill and salt and pepper to taste. Grill until done. Place on plate lined with a paper towel to drain.

In a medium bowl, add the ricotta cheese, egg whites and 1/2 cup of low fat mozzarella cheese. Blend well.
To assemble:

Spoon 1/3 of the meat sauce in a 8 X 8 baking dish. Place 1/2 of the zucchini slices on top of the meat sauce, completely covering the sauce.

Spoon 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of the zucchini and spreading it into a thin layer as best as possible. Add 1/2 of the spinach and then another 1/3 of the meat sauce spreading into layers. Place the remaining zucchini, following by the cheese mixture, spinach and the remaining meat sauce. Top with the last 1/3 of the cheese mixture and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of additional mozzarella cheese.




Cover and bake in a reheated 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.