NOODLE-LESS LASAGNA

I like to do some cooking on weekends in preparation for the week ahead when there is less time to cook supper.  I had some zucchini in the fridge and other vegetables along with some frozen ground beef.  I decided to make a lasagna without the noodles.  I didn't have any ricotta or cottage cheese nor mozzarella but I had frozen shredded herb cheddar along with parmesan in the fridge.  I knew that skipping the ricotta cheese would not be a hardship.  I used both fresh and frozen tomatoes to make the tomato sauce.  I added a bit of corn starch to thicken it.  Instead of fresh tomatoes you could use a can of tomato sauce.

In making this lasagna I had some ingredients leftover after assembling it in the large pan.  I used what was left and made a mini one layer lasagna in a small pan and froze it without baking for a future supper.  For a future supper, I will just need to bake it frozen and will pat myself on the back for planning ahead.

Sliced zucchini and mushrooms

Beef and vegetables sautéing. Then the tomato mixture was added to the pan.

Zucchini layer, followed by spinach and mushroom.

Second layer of meat, then zucchini followed by two kinds of cheese. 

Just out of the oven.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound lean ground beef
1-2 tbsp oil, e.g. olive, avocado
1 onion diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 coloured pepper, chopped
I small can tomato paste
5 tomatoes
1 tbsp corn starch
1 small package of frozen spinach, thaw and drained in a colander
3 zucchini, cut into thin slices
5-6 mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp of dried oregano and 1/2 tsp dried basil or 1/2 tsp mixture of Italian herbs
6-8 ozs shredded cheese
1/3 - 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Sprinkle the sliced zucchini with some salt and place in a colander to drain.  Let it sit while you assemble the ingredients and do the initial cooking.  In a large frying pan, heat the oil to high, add the ground beef and reduce the heat to medium.  Sauté the meat breaking it up into small pieces and cooking it until the pink is gone.  Sprinkle with pepper.  Add the onion, celery, coloured pepper and oregano/bail or blended herbs.  Cook until the vegetables are softened.  Add salt if so desired.

Into a blender, add the tomatoes and puree. Add the can of tomato paste and blend well. Add the corn starch and blend for another 15 to 20 seconds.  Add the tomato mixture to the frying pan with the beef.  Mix well and let simmer for a few minutes.  Turn the heat off on the frying pan.

Oil a 9 X 13 casserole dish.  Layer about half the beef tomato mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Add a layer of zucchini slices using half of the zucchini slices.  Layer all of the spinach and sliced mushrooms over top of zucchini.  Sprinkle with half of the shredded cheese.  Layer the remaining beef tomato mixture followed by the remaining zucchini.  Top with the rest of the shredded cheese and finish with the parmesan cheese.  Bake covered with foil at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes.  Remove the foil, increase the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.  It is good to let the lasagna sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.  Serves 6.

STACKED VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

In a recent post, I provided a recipe for an eggplant, zucchini and tomato bake.  This recipe also uses eggplant, zucchini and tomato but it is prepared differently and includes leftover mashed potatoes.  I like this recipe as the bottom layer of mashed potatoes acts as crust and also soaks up the juices from the vegetables.  I used a large pan for this casserole and took leftovers for lunches for several days.  Leftover casserole was a good change from soup for lunches.  

Layer of mashed potatoes as the base.

Next layer is eggplant.

Zucchini is layered over the eggplant.

Sliced tomatoes over the zucchini.

Cheese including fresh mozzarella was added during the baking.  Vegetable casserole ready for eating.

INGREDIENTS:

leftover mashed potatoes, about 3 medium to large mashed potatoes

1 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced

1 medium size zucchini, thinly sliced

1 can of sliced mushrooms or 6 fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 red or sweet onion, chopped

3 tomatoes, sliced

salt and pepper to taste

cheese for topping - cheddar, fresh mozzarella or feta

oil for greasing casserole dish

DIRECTIONS:

Grease a large pan, 9 X 11 or 9 X 13.  Place a base layer of mashed potatoes and spread evenly across the pan.  Add the next layer of eggplant followed by the zucchini.  Distribute the onion and mushrooms across the pan and then add the tomatoes.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Place the pan in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.  Halfway through the baking, pull the pan out of the oven and add the shredded or sliced cheese based on personal preference.  Return the pan to the oven to finish baking.  Serves 8.

EGGPLANT, ZUCCHINI AND TOMATO BAKE

I don't buy eggplant all the time though I do like it.  I bought two eggplants the other day at one of the local grocery stores.  I decided to make a simple vegetable casserole with eggplant, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, celery and red pepper.  You can also add sliced mushrooms if you wanted.  The following pictures show the layering I did with the vegetables and parmesan cheese.  I used more of a shallow dish but if you used a deeper dish you could layer the eggplant, zucchini and tomato mixture and then repeat these layers topped with parmesan cheese.   The dish was delicious and it was not overly tomatoey like a lasagna.

After baking.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp high temperature cooking oil, e.g. avocado or grape seed
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, diced
3 medium size tomatoes. chopped
1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced into rounds, about 1/4 inch thick
1 large zucchini, sliced in half, and then sliced lengthwise, less than 1/4 inch thick
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a non stick pan, heat the oil on medium high heat.  Add the onions, celery and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes.  Add the red pepper and tomatoes, reduce heat to medium and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often.  Add the italian seasoning and combine with the tomato onion mixture.  Remove from heat.

Using a 13 inch baking casserole dish which I added coated with a little bit of oil, layer the eggplant, followed by the zucchini.  Then add the tomato onion mixture and speed it over the zucchini slices.  Top with the grated parmesan cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.