Zucchini lasagna

So Dennis and I are on a quest for all things healthy and organic. My poor hubby has been on cholesterol and blood pressure meds for several years now. He blames genetics, I blame poor diet and his lack of exercise but mostly genetics:)  In his defense he was vegeterian for a full summer with minimal benefit in his blood pressure, labs and weight. His new doctor has suggested the DASH diet, since Dennis says I love to read I should be the one to read the book. Oh babe, that's his way of getting out of reading it. So all this to say last night we decided to make our own homeade Zucchini lasagna with fresh tomato sauce...nothing canned, nothing processed (except the cheese I guess and tomato paste:) So here it is, it was actually quite tasty.

Zucchini Lasagna with homemade tomato sauce
Ingredients:

Tomato sauce
10 Roma tomatoes
1 onion diced
5 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped mushroom
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp fresh oregano
1 tsp italian seasoning

1 lb ground turkey
2 large zucchini
15 ounces ricotta
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 tsp parsley
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms


First bring a pot of water to a boil. Place whole tomatoes into boiling water for about 1 minute or until soft and the skin starts to peel. Remove tomatoes from boiling water and place immediately into bowl of ice. Once cool, cut and remove skin and seeds. Place in food processor.

Place garlic cloves in food processor

Next, put in fresh basil.

Add small dash olive oil, oregano, italian seasoning, tomato paste, chopped onion, 1/4 cup mushroom. Puree in food processor. 

After that is pureed begin the ricotta mix. Place ricotta and egg into small mixing bowl. Mix well.

Chop fresh spinach, you want about 1/2 cup chopped spinach

Mix ricotta and spinach well

Add about a tsp of fresh parsley, set aside.

Chop mushrooms and set aside

Next brown the turkey. (If you want it to be vegetarian skip this step)


Once browned add in the tomato sauce. (excuse my browning bananas in the background:)


Slice zucchinis into thin slices.
  (You can also slice them thinly lengthwise but
 I think it is easier to cut the lasagna with the zucchini this way)

Now to begin layering. Start 1st layer with 1/2 of tomato sauce

Next layer a row of zucchinis

Then place ricotta mix and a layer of mushrooms.

Place half of mozzarella cheese over mushrooms.

Top with next row of zucchini

Top with remaining tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese

Cover with foil. Place in oven at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve and enjoy!




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