zucchini lasagna

A while ago I pinned this on pinterest:

photo credit: skinnytaste.com

I was intrigued, but time went by and I forgot about it.  Until my husband's cousin brought us some zucchini and yellow squash and then i knew i would make this.

Here's my version - I made some changes to the original recipe, but you should click over to skinnytaste and read her directions because she has some very helpful hints.

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
16 oz cottage cheese
1 bottle spaghetti sauce
1 egg
3 medium zucchini (i used 2 and included 1 yellow squash)
16 oz Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions

• Start by cleaning the zucchini.  Then slice into 1/8-inch thick slices.  Lay these on a flat surface and lightly coat with salt to draw out moisture.  Heat grill (I used my indoor grill for ease) and grill each zucchini slice for about 4 minutes.  Remove from grill and place on a paper towel to draw out more moisture.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a frying pan, add olive oil and grill onions and garlic.  Cook until onions are tender and turning translucent.  Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink.
• Drain the excess fat from the meat mixture.
• In a separate medium bowl, beat egg.  Add cottage cheese and spaghetti sauce.  Combine well.
• In a 9x13 baking dish, spread out a small amount of the sauce mixture (just enough to lightly cover the bottom of the pan).  On top of sauce mixture, lay out a layer of zucchini.  Then spread out a layer of 1/2 of the meat mixture.  
• Add another layer of sauce (about half of the remaining), followed by a zucchini layer and finally another meat layer.  Cover with a layer of zucchini.
• Top with the Mozzarella cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  Let it stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Make a tossed salad and some garlic bread and you've got yourself a meal!

The hubby loved this and so did I.  The kids had a hard time getting past the fact that there weren't any noodles.  Next time, I would only use the zucchini and leave the yellow squash for something else.