Zucchini Lasagna

I can't think of anything better to be doing right now than sitting here in my living room, with a warm cup of real Irish coffee (hey, it's Saturday and I've been good), typing my blog post, and listening to the rain outside.  I was so excited when I first woke up this morning because there was an actual thunderstorm going on, with lightening and everything.  It's the type of event that you very rarely see during the beginning of January, but I love a good thunderstorm; my dogs, not so much.

Today's recipe that I'll be sharing is for zucchini lasagna, which is my healthy alternative to regular lasagna, and is it every delicious!  In fact, I found the leftovers to be better than the day I originally made it, mostly because this extra time allowed the flavors to absorb better.  I also got to use my new mandolin slicer that I received as a Christmas gift!  New kitchen gadgets are the best, I just always have the challenge of finding a spot for them.  If you don't already have one yourself, and eat lots of vegetables, definitely look into getting one.  It easily cuts prep time in half and is amazing!

FYI - Zucchinis are kind of small at the grocery stores right now, so you may have to adjust how many you buy in order to make this recipe.  Just use your best judgment.

Zucchini Lasagna
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Ingredients:
1 lb. 99% fat free, lean ground turkey (or ground beef)
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup green bell pepper, chopped
½ a large yellow onion, chopped
2-3 zucchini’s thinly sliced
1 jar (24 oz.) pasta sauce (I used Prego Traditional)
2 Tsp. oregano
½ tsp. basil
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1-2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9x13” baking dish with a non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

In a large skillet, over medium heat, brown the ground turkey.  Once ready, add in the garlic, green pepper, and onion and let sauté for 3-5 minutes.  

Next, stir in the pasta sauce, oregano, and basil and let the mixture come to a light boil.  Once ready, remove the sauce from the heat, sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese, and stir around.

To assemble:
Place a thin layer of the sauce mixture into the bottom of the baking dish.  Layer zucchinis over the sauce and sprinkle with some mozzarella cheese.  Feel free to sprinkle on some more Parmesan cheese, if you so desire.  After that, just repeat the layers.  Hint: I made sure to save some sauce for the top layer, that way it helped cook the last row of zucchini.

Bake the lasagna for 15 minutes, covered with aluminum foil.  After that, remove the foil, increase the temperature to 350 degrees, and allow it to cook for another 15 minutes.

Source: Adapted from 30 hand made days