Comfort Food, My Way!

Hey there! Boy do I have a treat for you! When the weather gets cooler you don't want fresh fruits and salads as much. I am already thinking ahead for you guys and wanted to put this recipe up for ya! Kimberly, this is what you want to make! Meeka, you will love this as well. Who am I kidding!?! You will all love this one! Lets just get right to it, shall we? Ready for your old favorite but that goes along with your new lifestyle? LASAGNA, but my way ;)

No-Noodle Vegetable Lasagna

1 26 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I like marinara sauce, Newman's Own brand buy the LOW SODIUM if you can).
1 small container of fat free cottage cheese
1 large eggplant

1 onion (red or yellow)

1 clove of garlic or garlic powder (not garlic salt!)

chopped fresh basil (or just use dried Italian or basil if that is what you have)
3 summer squash (zucchini and yellow squash works great)
1 pound of slices mushrooms
bag of baby spinach

1 cube of tofu slice or bocca burger or morning star farms "beef" grounds (you can get this in the freezer section) If you just have to have real meat go with ground 99% fat free ground turkey. If you do decide to go with the ground turkey you have to cook it first. Brown it and set it to the side.

Directions:

Basically you are going to layer your pan the same way that you normally would. First I spoon out some of the marinara sauce and spread the bottom of the pan a little. Then I slice the squash and the eggplant in long, slices, about 1/4 inch thick. These are going to be your noodles! I did not peel the squash or the eggplant (more fiber!).

This is what the pan will look like when you have your first layer! After you have your first layer of squash and zucchini down, spoon out and layer the cottage cheese and place the chopped garlic, onion, mushrooms, herbs and some of the fresh spinach.

After that is placed then layer your tofu, ground turkey OR bocca grounds.

Then you do the process all over again until you fill the pan. Yes, it is just that easy! I always have a empty jar of marinara at the end and I put a tiny bit of water in the jar, put the lid on top and then swish it around to get all the marinara out. Pour the last bit of the marinara on top and your done! I pre heat the oven for 350 degrees and let it bake about 40-45 minutes.

Here is the lovely finished product!!! Now, I did sprinkle a tiny bit of cheddar on the top of this batch. You can too but honestly when I ate it I thought "I cant even taste the cheese." I would just leave it off if I were you. If you got a low sodium maranara sauce then you may want to lightly salt yours. Try your best to use no salt in your cooking and after you get it to your plate than use it. Some have a habit of using salt just for the heck of it and this will cut down on your intake!

You can bake two pans if you are making this for guests and have your food for the week already! I love making this dish because it never gets old. You can pair it with a simple side salad or even some fresh garlic bread if you are having friends or family over and you want to have something to really fill them up! I am telling you guys, this is a winner! When it gets to be winter time, you will be thanking me for this one!

Enjoy!

-Heather