RECIPE | Low-Carb Squash, Zucchini, & Meat “Lasagna”

As you know, we’ve been receiving a CSA box since March (CSA = community supported agriculture… it’s a box full of locally grown, organic produce, meat, and eggs). One of the things I have loved about the CSA is we always have a TON of fresh fruits and vegetables on hand… AND a lot of the vegetables are not veggies that I’ve cooked a lot with or I’m super familiar with.

Recently, we’ve been receiving A LOT of squash and zucchini in our CSA box and, well, my husband very much dislikes squash and zucchini. BUT, I’ve been DETERMINED to come up with a recipe for all the veggies we’ve received and make them in a way that he likes…

A few weeks ago, I was playing around in the kitchen and decided to try my hand at a low-carb, zucchini and squash “lasagna.”

I was sneaky and didn’t tell my husband I was putting those veggies in there… and whipped this dish up and served it up and he was saying how delicious it was and all that… and BOOM! I told him what was in it and he was genuinely surprised and LOVED it!

Needless to say, it was a big hit in this house and will definitely be made again.

While there looks like there are a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps, I PROMISE that it’s super easy! You can easily switch out different ingredients that you have on hand. I just like to use what I got in my kitchen. 🙂

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RECIPE | Low-Carb Squash, Zucchini, & Meat "Lasagna"

An easy, delicious, low-carb recipe for squash, zucchini, and meat lasagna.

Course Main

Cuisine Low-Carb Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Author Molly Stillman

Ingredients

• 1 large zucchini
• 1 squash I used Patty Pan Squash, but pretty much any squash will do
• 1 small bunch of greens finely chopped (could be spinach, collards, chard, etc. I used rainbow chard)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 jar of pasta sauce of your choice
• Crumbled goat cheese optional
• Fresh mozzarella
• Shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 pound of ground beef
• 1/2 pound of italian sausage you could honestly do one pound of just one meat... this is just what I happened to use
• Italian seasoning
• Cracked sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. In a 9x13 baking dish, spray with cooking spray (I love olive oil), then line the bottom with sliced zucchini.
3. Brown the meat and cook thoroughly, then set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the chopped greens of your choice with the can of diced tomatoes and add in some Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste. (I didn't measure, I just eyeballed it). Then, mixed well.
5. Cover the layer of zucchini with the greens and tomato mixture.
6. Top that layer with crumbled goat cheese (you could switch this out for another type of cheese, but I love goat cheese)
7. Then top with half the meat.
8. Then top that layer of meat with the thinly sliced squash
9. Next, add the last of the meat, and cover with the jar of pasta sauce and spread evenly.
10. Sprinkle Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper on top.
11. Finally, add the sliced fresh mozzarella and finish off with some shredded mozzarella.
12. If desired, add some more seasoning on top.
13. Then, place in the oven and bake 30 minutes or until bubbly (you'll just have to keep an eye on it).

What about you? Will you give this recipe a try? I promise, it is a HIT! It’s delicious. AND it’s healthy! (Well, the garlic bread isn’t… but that’s optional… haha!) 🙂