For new years I decided to try something different and while I enjoy making pizza the crust is a little too carbo intense for me...
I decided to try to roll a variant on Lasagna but without the pasta... I wanted to replace the pasta with spaghetti squash. In my plan I was going to cut the uncooked squash into flat squares to layer in like pasta... but like so many plans the squash didn't cooperate. I also neglected to look at a recipe for standard lasagna so I'm sure I used the wrong cheese. But it turned out good (to my taste buds) so I though I would share.
For meat, I pre cooked some hot italian sausage over low heat in a covered pan. Living in MS, I can't get the real deal, like when I lived in the NE, but the mass market poop sold by one of the sausage companies was close enough for government work. After cooking, cut the sausage into bite sized chunks. The meat can be cooking while your cutting and loading the vegetables into the casserole dish. The meat can be added near the end near the top of the casserole. Make sure the meat is covered by a layer of tomato so it doesn't dry out in the oven. Note: you could substitute hamburger, or leave out the meat entirely, but the spice in the sausage definitely helped the overall flavor profile (IMO). If you want to go for uber-healthy, there's a method to cook the ground hamburger in a slurry of canola oil, where the saturated fat from the meat, ends up in suspension in the lighter oil. Drain off and rinse the hamburger after cooking with water for reduced sat fat, but you will lose the flavor of the fat removed so it's a trade off.
I started out with a large can of chopped tomatoes (cutting real tomatoes is too much work for me). First a layer of tomato in a square pyrex casserole dish. Then I tried to cut small flat squares of squash, but ended up with chunks. I added about a 1/4 onion cut into small pieces and a quarter bell pepper (per layer). I then sprinkled a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. Added another layer of tomato, then more layers of squash, onion, pepper, etc. until the dish was full.
I used about a 1/2 pound of cheese, over a pound of tomato, about half of a squash, etc.
I baked this at modest temp 325', for over an hour, closer to 90 min, but exact baking time is not critical since the meat is precooked and the casserole is hard to burn. Just make sure you cook it long enough for the veggies to soften and release their love.
I guess this is more like a vegetable casserole, than a lasagna but the cheese gave it a little extra texture and the baked vegetables were very tasty, surprisingly sweet. If you really like sweet you could substitute processed spaghetti sauce for the chopped tomato, but I avoid processed foods that use added sugar, etc.
I ended up with 5 or so leftover servings I put in freezer containers that I will microwave for future meals.
Happy new year...
JR
I decided to try to roll a variant on Lasagna but without the pasta... I wanted to replace the pasta with spaghetti squash. In my plan I was going to cut the uncooked squash into flat squares to layer in like pasta... but like so many plans the squash didn't cooperate. I also neglected to look at a recipe for standard lasagna so I'm sure I used the wrong cheese. But it turned out good (to my taste buds) so I though I would share.
For meat, I pre cooked some hot italian sausage over low heat in a covered pan. Living in MS, I can't get the real deal, like when I lived in the NE, but the mass market poop sold by one of the sausage companies was close enough for government work. After cooking, cut the sausage into bite sized chunks. The meat can be cooking while your cutting and loading the vegetables into the casserole dish. The meat can be added near the end near the top of the casserole. Make sure the meat is covered by a layer of tomato so it doesn't dry out in the oven. Note: you could substitute hamburger, or leave out the meat entirely, but the spice in the sausage definitely helped the overall flavor profile (IMO). If you want to go for uber-healthy, there's a method to cook the ground hamburger in a slurry of canola oil, where the saturated fat from the meat, ends up in suspension in the lighter oil. Drain off and rinse the hamburger after cooking with water for reduced sat fat, but you will lose the flavor of the fat removed so it's a trade off.
I started out with a large can of chopped tomatoes (cutting real tomatoes is too much work for me). First a layer of tomato in a square pyrex casserole dish. Then I tried to cut small flat squares of squash, but ended up with chunks. I added about a 1/4 onion cut into small pieces and a quarter bell pepper (per layer). I then sprinkled a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. Added another layer of tomato, then more layers of squash, onion, pepper, etc. until the dish was full.
I used about a 1/2 pound of cheese, over a pound of tomato, about half of a squash, etc.
I baked this at modest temp 325', for over an hour, closer to 90 min, but exact baking time is not critical since the meat is precooked and the casserole is hard to burn. Just make sure you cook it long enough for the veggies to soften and release their love.
I guess this is more like a vegetable casserole, than a lasagna but the cheese gave it a little extra texture and the baked vegetables were very tasty, surprisingly sweet. If you really like sweet you could substitute processed spaghetti sauce for the chopped tomato, but I avoid processed foods that use added sugar, etc.
I ended up with 5 or so leftover servings I put in freezer containers that I will microwave for future meals.
Happy new year...
JR
And HOW were there any leftovers!!????
