No-Pasta Lasagna

Looking for an old classic with a new twist? Try this no-pasta lasagna. All the tastiness of lasagna with a nice helping of vegetables and no pasta.

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

16 oz of crushed tomato
½ lb of lean ground beef
1 finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper

Lasagna

1 large eggplant – cut into ¼ in. pieces, length-wise
3 green squash – cut into ¼ in. pieces, length-wise
3 red bell peppers – sliced

1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella
½ cup grated Parmesan
1 egg

Preparing Meat Sauce

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large saucepan on high heat.
2. Add the ground beef and cook until most of the pink is gone.
3. If necessary, drain excess oil.
4. Add crushed tomatoes, chopped onion, chopped garlic, salt and pepper.
5. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for fifteen minutes – stirring occasionally.
6. Remove from fire and set aside.

Preparing Vegetables

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Lightly brush olive oil on the bottom of a sheet pan.
3. Arrange sliced vegetables on the sheet pan and brush the top with olive oil.
4. Place in oven for fifteen minutes (or until the vegetables are golden brown).
5. Remove from oven and set aside.

Preparing Cheese Mix

1. In a mixing bowl, combine one egg, 1 cup ricotta cheese, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, and ½ cup Parmesan cheese.
2. Mix well.

Preparing Lasagna

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Spread 1/3 of the meat sauce in the bottom of a baking dish.
3. Layer 1/3 of the eggplant, ½ of the green squash, and ½ of the bell pepper on top of the meat.
4. Spread ½ of the cheese mix on top of the vegetable layer.
5. Repeat layering.
6. Spread the remaining meat sauce and then the remaining eggplant on top.
7. Top with ½ cup of mozzarella.
8. Place in oven for 30 minutes (until the top is golden brown and bubbling).
9. Let cool and dig in.

Tips

• For a quick recipe, buy a can of meat sauce at your grocers instead of making it from scratch. While cooking add a table spoon of sugar to get rid of the acidity.
• For a vegetarian lasagna, replace the beef with a ½ lb of sliced mushrooms. If the mushrooms are uncooked, saute them in butter in a sauce pan until tender and golden.
• Experiment with adding other vegetables like broccoli and chopped spinach or using a blend of Italian cheese instead of just mozzarella.

Enjoy!