Turkey Lasagna with Zucchini "Noodles"

I've been alternating between stalling to write this post (via goofing around on the Internet) for most of the afternoon. Really, I guess I've been thinking about how to preface this post. It's not that this recipe wasn't good--it was--I just had some technical difficulties with it. I want to be truthful about my experience with this recipe, so here it goes.

I'm not sure if it was the recipe that wasn't solid, or my cooking skills last night. Either way, I had issues, man!

Okay, first the positives...The overall flavor was great, and it was SBD Phase 1 friendly. No one (read: my family) complained about not having actual "noodles" and I loved that this was a more healthful version of standard lasagna. I would give this an A+ for a flavor grade.

Now, the not-so-positives...

It. was. a. soupy. mess. Seriously, like super-soupy. (Haha! Say that three times fast...super-soupy, super-soupy, super-soupy.)

I followed the directions fairly precisely, but it is possible that I messed it up somewhere along the way. In the photo you can see the excess, watery sauce along the edges of the pan. I'm not sure how to fix that, since I did bake the zucchini slices as prescribed. Maybe my sauce itself was watery???? I don't know. The texture did not affect the flavor, but it did impede on my desire to have a clean kitchen. I had watery sauce everywhere, including bubbled over in the bottom of my oven. Once the food got on the plate, it looked pretty messy. Thankfully, we're not sticklers about presentation at my house.

Aside from the lack of neatness, this was good. I even had leftovers today for lunch, and it was still very tasty. I'm just mad that it was watery, I guess. Oh well! Like I said, that could just have been my issue and I wouldn't let my result deter you from making this yummy, filling, and very satisfying low-carb lasagna.

Turkey Lasagna with Zucchini "Noodles"
Adapted From: the Dashing Dish website
(Here is the link: http://www.dashingdish.com/2011/01/no-noodles-about-it-the-best-low-carb-lasagna/)

Ingredients:
For the Noodles:
6 large zucchini*, cut lengthwise into 1/8 inch strips, should resemble thick lasagna type “noodles”. (*SEE NOTE)

For the Meat Sauce:
1.25 lb lean ground turkey meat
1 lb. of Italian sausage (I used pork)
1 large onion, diced
2 cups fresh mushrooms
1/2 can tomato paste
1/2 (25 ounce) jar of spaghetti sauce (I used one with 70 calories per 1/2 cup serving)
5 cloves garlic, minced)
Salt and pepper, or to taste
*Optional seasoning: 2 tbs of Italian Seasoning (i.e. dried thyme, oregano, basil)

For the Cheese Layer:
1 (16 ounce) container light cottage cheese (or light ricotta cheese)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

*NOTE: If you don’t want to use zucchini for the ‘noodles’, you could also use a large eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/8 inch strips, or 1 box no-boil lasagna noodles!

Directions:

For the noodle layer:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray, arrange zucchini slices and season with salt and pepper. Bake zucchini slices for 5 minutes on each side, then remove from oven. Set zucchini slices aside and lower oven temperature to 375 degrees.

For the meat sauce layer:
In a large non-stick skillet, cook meat until it’s browned. To the skillet, add the veggies, seasonings, garlic, and spaghetti sauce. Add tomato paste. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until veggies start to soften, stirring occasionally.

For the cheesy layer:
Mix the cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese together (skip this step if using ricotta.)

Put it all together:
Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Begin by spreading 1/3 of the meat sauce in the bottom of the pan. Follow meat sauce with a layer of zucchini slices, followed by a layer of cottage (or ricotta) cheese. Repeat the layers until casserole dish is full. Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.Remove foil and bake or broil another 5-10 minutes until cheese is browned. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before slicing, and serve warm!



The Results:
Tasty, but moist. (See above rant.)