lauren shayla

Zucchini Lasagna

Who doesn't love recipes that exclude a yellow container? Carbs are my biggest downfall and I could seriously live off of them! Instead of using regular noodles why not use zucchini? Swapping out a green for a yellow is a win win for me. I will say that I couldn't eating this stuff! It may have been a bit too good haha. This is perfect too with all of the farmers markets that will be starting soon. There may be some questioning about how " clean"  this recipe is because of the tomato sauce and sriracha but if you have a clean, homemade sauce you would like to use go for it! Also, instead of sriracha you can always use regular hot sauce or you can omit it if you don like spicy.

INGREDIENTS 

• 2 medium sized zucchini
• 1 pound of 98% ground chicken
• 4 sweet Italian turkey sausage links 
• 1 green pepper chopped
• 1 red or white onion chopped( I used red)
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
•  large jar of organic pasta sauce without added sugar ( I used roasted garlic)
• 15 ounces skim ricotta cheese 
• 2 cups of part skim mozzarella ( I but the fresh and shred it because its free of anti-caking agents)
• 1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese ( do not use kraft ultra processed part! I will jump through the screen and attack you!)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 egg white
• 1/8-1/4 cup sriracha to taste
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoons of onion powder
• 2 teaspoons parsley 
• Himalayan salt and pepper to taste ( do not ruin this recipe with iodized salt! I will again... jump through and attack)
• 2 teaspoons of coconut oil or olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep: Approx 40 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

Servings: 8 servings

21 day fix: 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue, 1/2 purple ( sauce), 1/4 teaspoon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Add coconut oil to skillet and sauté peppers, onions, and garlic for about 2-3 minutes
3. While they cook, peel the casing off of the chicken sausage.
4. Add chicken and chicken sausage to the peppers and onions and brown.
5. While they meat is browning, begin to slice your zucchini with a mandoline ( be careful not to amputate a finger! I almost did). Keep the slices thicker ~ 1/4 of an inch thick
6. Once your meat is brown, add the pasta sauce to the skillet along with 1 teaspoon of garlic, oregano, fresh basil, salt, pepper, parsley, onion powder and sriracha. 
7. Allow to cook on medium/low for 15 minutes 
8. While your meat sauce cooks; add ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, egg white, and a teaspoon of garlic powder together in a mixing bowl. 
9. When the meat sauce is ready, place about 1/2 meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan . Place a layer of the zucchini noodles on top followed by 1/2 of ricotta cheese mixture. Next, spread 1/2 cup of mozzarella on top of ricotta followed by a second layer of meat sauce. Place the last layer of zucchini noodles on top of meat sauce. Finish with the final layer of ricotta cheese and top with the remaining 1.5 cups of mozzarella cheese. ( I like to save most of the cheese for the top because I like it to be all brown and bubbly) 
10. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. 
11. After 30 minutes, remove foil and return to over for an additional 30 minutes. 
12. Once the cheese is nice and brown an bubbly remove and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
13. Serve warm and enjoy! 
14. Prepare to resist going back for seconds!