Lasagna!

Coming from an Italian family, I grew up eating lasagna. Delicious, messy, meaty lasagna. Of course, when you're married to someone who a) did not grow up in an Italian family, and b) is gluten free, you don't get to eat lasagna very much. When I first asked Evan if he like lasagna, he said he didn't really remember. It had been over ten years since his last lasagna, and he was pretty sure it was Stouffer's.

Then, one lucky Christmas, my aunt gave us some rice lasagna noodles. I bought a casserole dish, and we created Evan's first every homemade lasagna. It turned out perfectly. The mozzarella cheese browned a bit on top, and the inside of the lasagna melted into a delectably gooey mess.

After we got married, we realized how difficult rice lasagna noodles are to come by (and how expensive they are!). Luckily, our very resourceful neighbors mentioned that they had used zucchini slices in place of lasagna noodles. We were very skeptical at first - after all, neither of us very enthusiastic about zucchini. Still, we decided to try it, and we were amazed with the quality of our lasagna! Not only was it incredible the first time around, but it kept excellently in the refrigerator, so we were able to take it with us to work for lunches.

Now, we always use zucchini for our lasagna noodles, and you can really use any lasagna recipe, but I've put mine here, just in case you'd like to try it.

Gluten Free Zucchini Lasagna


Ingredients


2 zucchini, cut into thin, vertical slices (a cheese slicer works well for this)
1 16 oz container ricotta cheese
3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
2 lbs cooked ground beef
Grated parmesean (optional)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
Basil, rosemary, crushed garlic and oregano to taste

Directions


1. Thoroughly mix tomato sauce and tomato paste, heat on the stove and add as much basil, rosemary, garlic, and oregano as desired (you can add other seasonings too, these are the ones we like in our lasagna)
2. Lay zucchini slices down in a 13x9in baking pan. Create a single layer and cover the bottom of the pan.
3. Heat ricotta slightly in the microwave, and mix in a handful of mozzarella (the heat makes it easier to spread the cheese).
4. Spread approximately 1/3 of the sauce on top of the zucchini, along with about half of the meat and ricotta cheese mixture.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 to create another layer. (Be sure to put a final layer of zucchini on the top)
6. Spread the remainder of the sauce on top of the last layer of zucchini, and cover with mozzarella and parmesean.
7. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and slightly browned around the edges.