I decided to take my homemade lasagna recipe and substitute eggplant and zucchini slices for the noodles and added a layer of spinach. Oh my goodness, it was so yummy! Even the hard core lasagna lover in my house loved it. Here is the recipe if you would like to try it.
1 lb of either ground beef, turkey, chicken, or pork (you can mix and match the meats if you want)
3 garlic cloves
½ of an onion
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh basil chopped
22 oz can crushed tomatoes
Salt/pepper/Italian seasoning to taste
Fresh spinach leaves
1 medium eggplant
2 medium zucchini
15 oz skim Ricotta cheese
8 oz shredded Mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
¼ c grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Brown meat, remove from pan and put in colander to drain. Add olive oil to same pan and add chopped onions and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Add meat back to pan and then add the tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Simmer 30 minutes.
While sauce is simmering slice lengthwise the eggplant and zucchini using a mandolin slicer. Put on paper towels and sprinkle salt. This will draw out the water so it doesn’t make the lasagna watery. After about 10 minutes dab with paper towel and grill 2 minutes on each side (can use an stovetop grill pan) and set aside
Add Ricotta cheese, egg, and shredded parmesan cheese in bowl and blend together.
Using a 9x13 pan put light layer of sauce on bottom, layer with eggplant slices, layer with ricotta mixture, and sprinkle grated mozzarella or Italian blend cheese. Add layer of fresh spinach leaves and then another light layer of sauce, then zucchini, ricotta, grated cheese, and then the rest of the meat sauce if there is any left.
Bake covered 375 degrees for 45 minutes, uncover and bake for another 15 minutes