Monday, October 7, 2013

Fall Paleo Lasagna

Ditch the pasta sauce in favor of fall flavors with this Paleo friendly version of lasagna. This recipe takes some time to put together, but is well worth it for a nutrient dense meal. (Plus, it can be dinner/ lunch for a few days.) 

What You Need:

4 Medium zucchinis
2 10-ounce packages of frozen squash
1 Medium head of cauliflower
1 Small onion
2 Cloves of garlic
½ T of Apple cider vinegar
1 Pint of Grape tomatoes
2 lbs of Bulk Italian sausage
1 lb of Raw mushrooms, sliced
1 lb of Baby spinach
Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper

What To Do:

If not already indicated as washed, wash your produce before beginning. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the tomatoes on a cookie sheet (lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper) and roast for 30 minutes.

Using a vegetable peeler, peel zucchini noodles (zoodles) until you reach the seedy middle of the zucchini. (You can also use a mandolin to make the zoodles.) Lay the zoodles, overlapping, on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper (you will likely need two cookie sheets for all the zoodles) and bake for 10 minutes.  

While the zoodles bake, cut the cauliflower into florets and place in a microwaveable container. Add a little water, cover, and steam in the microwave until cooked through. After steaming, place the cauliflower florets in a food processor and process until it is of mashed potato consistency. Add ½ T of apple cider vinegar and blend.

Heat the squash according to package instructions (I prefer the microwave option).  

Chop the onion and garlic. Spray a skillet with cooking spray, place on a stove top burner, set the burner to medium, sauté the onion and garlic until soft, and set aside in a bowl. Next, using the same skillet, sauté the mushrooms with the spinach and set aside.

Turn the burner under the skillet up to medium-high and cook the sausage until browned and crumbled. 


Turn the oven temperature up to 425 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 inch cake pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Take one sheet of zoodles and place on the bottom of the pan. Use half of the squash and spread over the noodles with a spatula (this will help hold it together). Layer half of the mushroom and spinach mixture, onion and garlic mixture, and sausage over the squash. Spread a layer of half of the cauliflower mash over the sausage. Layer all of the tomatoes over the cauliflower. Sprinkle ½ T of Italian seasoning over the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Repeat starting with the zoodles and ending with the cauliflower mash. 

Place the lasagna in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.