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Squiggle86
Thu, Aug-16-07, 10:14
Ingredients:

2 Large Zucchini
1 can tomato sauce (medium sized can)
1 container (500g) ricotta cheese
Shredded cheese (amounts are up to you, I used marble cheddar but mozzarella would make it more authentic.)
Parmesan cheese (divided)
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 lb. Ground beef
5 Italian Sausages (squished out of their casings)
Garlic Powder (to taste)
Italian Seasoning (to taste)

1. Brown beef and sausages in separate pans, or use the same pan and put the meat in a large pot when each one is done.

2. Mix meat, green and red pepper (chopped) tomato sauce, enough parmesan cheese to taste, garlic powder and Italian seasoning in a large pot until all ingredients are covered in tomato sauce. (There is not much tomato sauce to keep it low-carb, so it won't be as 'saucy'.) Put aside.

3. Slice zucchinis (lengthwise or in rounds, doesn't matter... but I had a heck of a time trying to slice them lengthwise) THINLY and layer bottom of lasagna pan until the whole bottom is covered.

4. Top with a layer of meat mixture, a few spoonfuls of ricotta (spread with a spatula), parmesan cheese and as much shredded cheese as you like.

5. Top with another layer of zucchini, meat mixture and cheeses as above.

6. My pan looked very full at this time, but you can add another layer if you like.

7. Top entire thing with leftover shredded cheese and parmesan.

8. Bake at 350 for 45 min to 60 min.

*note: Because of the water content in the zucchini, when you look in the oven to check on your lasagna, the edges will look watery. When I was ready to slice it, it sliced quite easily into portions and I used a hamburger flipper to take them out and plate them... only about a 1/2 inch of liquid was left in the pan, and it tasted AMAZING. They stayed in lasagna-slice form.

You could attempt to make it less watery when baking by laying out the zucchini slices on paper towel beforehand and sprinkling them with salt, which leaches out the water. but again, the wateriness didn't affect the taste or texture.

Serves 6 large portions.

cdjohnson
Fri, Aug-17-07, 15:29
Sounds yummy! Do you have a carb count for this?

Drew31
Sat, Aug-18-07, 12:01
I do basically the same thing but with eggplant. I also use pepperoni in addition to beef and sausage, and I like mushrooms in mine as well. Try using pizza sauce instead of regular tomato sauce, less carbs so you can use more of it!

Squiggle86
Mon, Aug-20-07, 15:46
I don't have a carb count for it, but even with the ricotta and tomato sauce, I was down a lb the next day. There are carbs in the veggies, cheeses, sausage and sauce, and there are so many different kinds of each (different brands, ingredients, etc.) the carb counts would be off. If you make it on your own, count your ingredients and I doubt the carbs would be too high for a large, satisfying dinner.

I had it with a spinach salad, and am making an eggplant version tonight (Sounds good Drew, I actually bought the eggplant before I even read your post :D)

Mushrooms and other veggies would be a great addition too, I just don't like mushrooms so I didn't use any :)

Food Eater
Mon, Aug-20-07, 17:30
Awesome! I think this is finally gonna motivate me to start incorporating zucchini in my meals. Thanks!

Squiggle86
Mon, Aug-20-07, 19:38
The eggplant version was excellent too!

I was never a fan of zucchini either, but it's soooooo delicious now that I'm low carbing.

missymagoo
Tue, Aug-21-07, 13:09
yummy! sue