Zucchini Lasagna

What do you do with a gigantic zucchini that you receive from friends (thanks, Ferraris!)?  You make a lasagna, of course.

I've seen this a number of times on Pinterest, and it sounded good, so I thought I'd give it a try.  It's more of an idea than a recipe.  You just take thin slices of zucchini (or eggplant) and layer them, in place of noodles, with typical lasagna ingredients like sauce, cheese, ground beef/sausage, etc.  It was absolutely delicious, and I didn't miss the noodles at all.

One note: zucchinis release a lot of liquid when cooked, so try to keep your sauce on the thicker/drier side, otherwise it will come out a little soupy.  Still tasty, though, but you might need a spoon instead of a fork.

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:

• zucchinis, cut thinly into 1/8" slices
• typical lasagna ingredients, minus the noodles

Directions:

• Layer ingredients into a baking dish like you would a typical lasagna, using the sliced zucchini in place of noodles.  Bake as usual. (I did mine at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, and the zucchini was perfectly "al dente".)

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna
Adapted from this recipe


Ingredients:

• 9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 1 (15 ounce) container of part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 pound sliced crimini mushrooms
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1 (1 pound) bag of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Boil noodles per package instructions.  Drain and lay flat on aluminum foil, set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta and cottage cheeses with the eggs.  Set aside.
• Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet.  Sweat the diced onion until translucent.  Add the mushrooms and season with TSSS.  Sauté for several minutes until soft.  Add the spinach and sauté a few minutes longer.  Add the marinara sauce and continue to stir until heated through.  Remove from heat and set aside.
• Spray the bottom of a lasagna pan with olive oil.  Lay 3 noodles in the pan.  Spread half of the cheese mixture over the noodles.  Then spread half of the spinach-mushroom mixture over the cheese.  
• Lay down 3 more noodles.  Spread the rest of the cheese mixture (minus 3 tablespoons, which you need to reserve), then the rest of the spinach-mushroom mixture.
• Lay down the last 3 noodles.  Top with the remaining reserved cheese mixture.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Then remove the foil, top with the shredded mozzarella and parmesan, and return the lasagna to the oven for an additional 15 minutes.
• When done and bubbling, remove the lasagna from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.