Faux (But Healthy) Lasagna

Ironic, isn't it?

Look at the photo to the right of this, looks great doesn't it? Layer upon layer of gooey noodles, meat, and cheese. Except - it is all a giant lie, there is not one honest pasta noodle in the lot. 

This all started out as a one of the meals from our latest +HelloFresh US box.  Yes - we made a couple of tweaks to their suggested recipe and I am going to make note of a couple of changes we are going to make the next time we make this.  No - the irony of having a Faux Lasagna on this blog is not lost on me.

Here is what you will need on your cutting board to make 2, 16 Weight Watchers - Point Plus, 599 calorie servings. Note, my additions and future substitutions could impact the values stated above.

• 10 ounces of 90/10 ground beef (next time, we will replace with ground turkey)
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic (two is good, four is better)
• 2 large zucchini
• 8 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (resist the urge to replace this with a 'skim' version - it doesn't like to melt)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano (sigh, if you do not want your wife's Italian ancestors haunting you, get fresh oregano)
• 1/2 tablespoon red chili flakes (if you are using Turkey & can stand the heat, up this to 1 tablespoon)
• 8 ounces ricotta cheese (will be swapping this out for the skim version)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt & Pepper (hello, are you still not using +flavorgod seasonings?  Just flipping buy them already and use the 'Garlic Lovers' + the salt and pepper)

1. THE PREP WORK - preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Halve, peel, and dice the onion. Grate the garlic. Using a wide vegetable peeler, shave the zucchini into ribbons lengthwise - make sure you discard the seedy cores.

2. COOKING THE MEAT & VEGGIES - heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion to the pan and cook, tossing frequently, for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and chili flakes to the pan and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.  Season with salt and pepper. Add the meat to the pan and cook, breaking the meat up into small pieces, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Season with salt, pepper, and the Garlic Lovers FlavorGod.

3. TOMATOES, OREGANO & RICOTTA - slowly stir the tomatoes and oregano into the pan and cook for 5 minutes, until it starts to bubble. Season with salt, pepper, and the Garlic Lovers FlavorGod.  Season the ricotta with salt and pepper.

4. ASSEMBLE THE LASAGNA - in the bottom of a well oiled (we used olive oil cooking spray in a 9x9 inch stoneware) pan, place two layers of zucchini ribbons (I would suggest that you overlap them). Next add 1/2 of the ricotta in an even layer and then all of the tomato/meat mixture, add the rest of the ricotta to the top of the meat. Crown with another dual layer of zucchini ribbons and top the whole affair with the mozzarella.

5. COOK & SERVE - place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the zucchini has softened and the cheese is bubbling. Once cooked, pull from the oven, cut into slices, and enjoy.

There are a couple of variables to consider here, the size of the zucchini and pan can impact the number of layers you ultimately have.  What you see above is what worked for us but, if you get more just be sure to use an equal amount of overlapping ribbons, ricotta, and tomato/meat - making sure to repeat for each layer.  We did not miss the pasta component one bit and I suspect that this will become one of my hip-pocket meals...there aren't a ton of ingredients, the prep isn't that horrible, it is easy to clean as you go, and it was damn tasty.

Eat Well My Friends...