Zucchini Lasagna & A Laugh For Today

Today I decided to make a recipe I haven't made since I started WW.

This recipe originally came from Clean Eating magazine.

One of the nice things about this is that it wasn't necessary to change this a lot to make it point friendly.

However, I felt it needed more spice so I did add in there.  

I also substituted the 1 egg it called for with liquid egg whites.

The laugh will come later..   ;)

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp minced roasted garlic(you can buy this at the store already minced and roasted)

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, drained

1 lb sweet Italian turkey sausage

1/2 cup liquid egg whites

Pinch red pepper flakes

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 cup white wine

1 Tbsp whole wheat flour

2 cups fat free cottage cheese

1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese, divided

2 1/2 cups zucchini(about 2 medium), sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces, divided(My mandolin worked great for this!)

Broth of choice 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Spray a 9 x 13 inch Pyrex dish with cooking spray and set aside.  

Carefully cut the casings away from the Italian sausage and place in a non-stick skillet.

Using broth as needed, cook until done, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.  

Transfer the meat to a separate plate.  

Using the same skillet, saute onion and garlic over medium heat until tender.  

Add in the pinch of red pepper flakes.  

Throw in the wine and use that to deglaze the pan, scraping up and stirring in those brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  

Next add in the tomatoes, tomato paste and meat.  

Let this mixture simmer for 15-20 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.

While that's simmering pull out a large bowl.

In it mix together the cottage cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella, whole wheat flour, Italian seasoning and liquid egg whites.

Again, with the zucchini, you can use a knife, but if you have a mandolin it works really well.  

The pieces are all uniform in size and it's so easy to use!

Place 1/3 of the meat mixture in the bottom of the Pyrex dish and spread it evenly.

This won't entirely cover the pan.  It's okay.

Next place a layer of zucchini over the top followed by another 1/3 of the meat mixture and then all of the cheese mixture.

Place another layer of zucchini over this and then top with the remaining meat and the remaining 1/4 cup cheese.  

Bake for 30 minutes covered and an addition 10-15 minutes uncovered or until the cheese is well melted and the zucchini is tender.

So here's the laugh I promised.  Check out the pictures above.

I think because I didn't pre-cook the zucchini separately(& keep in mind the recipe didn't say to do this) this thing was way soupy!

I literally stood there using a turkey baster sucking out some of the excess liquid!

CRAZY!!!  

Sometimes you just have to laugh at your cooking faux pas.  

Not only did I laugh at myself I'm sharing it with you. :)  

So, points- I set this to serve 8 and it came out to 5 points per serving.

Admittedly this Hungry Girl needed an additional salad and fruit with it to get full but it tasted GREAT!

.... even if it was a little swampy.  Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself who can you laugh at?

So, word to the wise:  I recommend baking the zucchini separately first.  I'd probably bake them for 10 minutes or so before I added them to the casserole.  

Hopefully with these changes it will come out well for you.  

Just goes to show you, cooking is always an adventure!

Happy Cooking!!!