No Noodle Lasagna

Thursday, July 11, 2013

The baby has been bathed, fed, and is snug as a bug in bed. Dinner has been cooked - chicken caesar salads tonight - and I'm enjoying a little quiet time (with House Hunters) before the hubs gets home from work.

Tonight I have a delicious new recipe to share. Although the hubs hasn't tested it yet, I'm sure he'd approve. It's made with a common theme that we use often in our house...Italian sausage and peppers! (You can find my sausage and peppers pasta recipe here.) Many of you saw my Instagram picture yesterday of me cooking with Noelle. This is what I was working on.


It's definitely a bit more work than I usually like (especially on a weeknight) but is totally doable. Here's what you'll need:

1 lb hot Italian sausage ground (I use the links and remove them from their casings)
1 red pepper diced
1 green pepper diced
1/2 an onion diced
2 medium zucchini cut into wide thin strips (I just cut mine as thin as I could, but would probably use a mandolin slicer next time)
1 jar of vodka sauce
2 cups of Italian blend shredded cheese


Instructions:
1. Drain zucchini (some people prefer to salt it, and some bake it for a short time)*
2. Pre-heat oven to 350
3. Brown sausage and drain grease
4. Add chopped peppers and onion to the sausage until tender
5. Add 3/4 jar of vodka sauce and stir until well mixed
6. Put thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish
7. Add layer of zucchini strips
8. Add layer of sausage and peppers mixture
9. Top with 1 cup of cheese
10. Repeat steps 6-8
11. Put in oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and starting to turn golden brown**
12. Remove from oven and let set for 10 minutes
13. Cut, serve and enjoy


*I did not drain my zucchini (forgot how much moisture it has) and it was a bit waterier than I would have preferred. However, it was perfectly fine reheated today for lunch.
**Mine didn't brown in the 30 minutes, but the cheese was totally melted so I put it under the broiler until it was golden brown.


So, like I said, it's more work than my usual weeknight recipes, but it's so easy and you can actually do most of the steps while other pieces are working (i.e. draining zucchini while you brown sausage while you chop veggies).

I really hope you like this one. It makes 12 servings, and if you're like us, is perfect for leftovers to take for lunch the next day. Bonus? Yup, there's a bonus with this one. It's only 200 calories/serving!! If you ask me, that's a hell of a deal for a delicious and filling dinner.

ENJOY!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks, it sounds delicious. A very late dinner though :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Are you someone I know, or did you find my recipe online? If online, where did you find it? Would love to know who I'm reaching.

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