What I Lack in Carbs I Make Up For in ALL THE CHEESE

I know, I know. Between this and that one time I replaced rice with cauliflower, you're starting to worry about me.  Don't fret, while I don't blog about it, I am usually eating all the pasta and bread I can get my hands on. I think I was mainly inspired to do this dish because in my current Barrel of Monkeys show, I play a summer squash in not one but TWO stories. Ugh.  Typecasting, AMIRIGHT? But what can you do?  I don't currently have a picture of me in the costume, but this should suffice for now.

I mean, this isn't EXACTLY what I look like, but it's pretty close.

Recipe #24: Zucchini Lasagna

Choice of libation: I was torn because I wanted a cold beverage since it's SO FREAKIN STUFFY IN CHICAGO but I was making a lasagna, so felt like I needed a red wine.  I settled on a sparkling red -- Good Vines Marzemino.  It is definitely a summer wine, with notes of strawberry. You'll want it really chilled. Good Vines, as a company, is pretty great actually. They donate 5% of their sales to Chicago children's charities and their products are made in farmer cooperative-owned vineyard that is 70% solar powered.  So really, by drinking their wine, I am saving lives. 

Choice of music: Fastball's All the Pain Money Can Buy. Do not judge me.  It is a great album.  That's right. I said great.  I got to see them in concert last year and I could sing along to every one of their choruses.  I am not ashamed.

Remember how I said I had awful knife skills? That is still true. I went ahead and salted the zucchini strips and drained them because they can get pretty watery otherwise.  

This wasn't at all in the recipe, but I though it odd to make lasagna without ricotta - I mean, that recipe only had ONE kind of cheese. This is me improvising, half a bottle of Marzemino, in.

The layering process begins - just a little of the meat sauce to start.

Then add the zucchini strips. Had I used a mandolin (which we don't own), this would probably be a lot prettier, BUT SOMETIMES WE DON'T GET WHAT WE WANT, DO WE?

Then add the meat mixture

Next the cheese

Then the spinach and mushrooms -- look how healthy we're being!

Maybe I stole a handful of string cheese from my little brother's lunch stash. I'll pay him back in cheese, later. I actually just ran out of cheese on the other layer but needed something to melt on top of the lasagna, so I chopped them up. And then off to the oven it goes...   

On the Food Network, they're always telling you to taste every part of what you're making. I'm sure they actually meant taste it WHILE you're making it, not INSTEAD of cleaning your pans like civilized people.  Oh well.  It's good sauce.  

Success! Kind of!  Actually I didn't realize we didn't have foil, so it would have browned a lot better had I not skipped that step.  But honestly, I had been to Mariano's 3 times that day and I simply couldn't handle the snicker from the front cashier once more.  

In the end, it didn't LOOK like a lasagna because it didn't hang together very well, but it tasted pretty dang close.  If I had thought, I would be making lasagna without the lasagna I would have said  I was "Out of My Head"...

HAHA! NOW IT'S STUCK IN YOUR HEAD TOO!

stolen (and then heavily adapted) from nilsenpantry.com

1 pound ground beef (I used ground pork)

1 cup yellow onions (1/2 medium-sized onion), chopped

12 ounce bag of shredded cheese (I used 1 cup ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and 4 sticks of string cheese) 

(1 egg - I added for binding)

(1 tsp nutmeg - I like nutmeg in lasgana)

(2 handfuls of spinach)

(1 package of mushrooms)

1 tablespoon basil 

1 tablespoon oregano

2 tablespoons parsley 

3 small zucchinis or 2 large zucchinis, sliced in half vertically and then sliced horizontally into 1/4 inch thick slices

15 ounces organic tomato sauce (I used Classico's fire-roasted tomato and garlic)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

6 ounces tomato paste

Himalayan salt (to taste)

fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Coconut oil for greasing baking dish (I used olive oil)

(Place zucchini slices on paper towels and lightly salt and place in colander for 20 minutes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown ground meat in a large skillet.

Add garlic and onion and cook for 5 minutes.

Stir in tomato sauce and tomato paste.

Add in parsley, basil, oregano, salt and pepper and continue to stir.

Bring sauce to a light boil, then remove from heat.

Meanwhile, saute mushrooms and spinach until slightly wilted.

Mix ricotta, Parmesan, egg, nutmeg, 1 tbsp parsley, salt and pepper 

Grease a 9×13 baking dish with oil.

Put a little bit of the meat mixture on the bottom of the baking dish, about 1/4 cup

Next place a layer of zucchini strips

On top of the zucchini strips put the meat mixture and then add a layer of cheese

Repeat with a second set of layers: spinach/mushrooms, Zucchini, meat mixture and then ending with cheese on the very top (that's what I used the string cheese for - WHAT? We didn't have mozzarella).

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes

Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes, until all the cheese is melted and the zucchini is cooked through.

Pull out of oven and let set for 5 minutes before cutting and serving