Zucchini Lasagna and Homemade Clean Marinara Sauce

I'm a slacker!  I made this recipe like a week ago and am just finally getting it up on my blog.  I don't know why it is so hard for me to sit down a write on the blog.  Maybe because I have squirrel brain and am very easily disstracted?  Like I have 50 million things going on in my head and at least 10 projects going on at a time distracted.  Anyway, the recipe.....

You are going to want to start by making your own clean marinara sauce.  Trust me on this!!  It isn't hard and taste like 1000 times better than any jar junk.

2 - 24oz cans of organic petite diced tomatoes

1 can organic tomato paste

1/3 cup olive oil

1 whole onion

6 gloves garlic

Fresh basil and parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Start by chopping onion and sauteing in 1/3 cup olive oil until translucent.  Then add the garlic and continue to saute until you are drooling from all the smell goodness:)

Add the 2 cans of tomatoes, about 1/2 can of tomato paste, chopped basil and parsley.  Use fresh herbs if you can.  There is nothing compared and they are really easy to grow on a pot on your porch!

Let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes.

While that is simmering you can get the other ingredients together.

2 large zucchinis sliced lengthwise on a mandolin about 1/8 thick

1 tbl olive oil

1 1/2 cups 2% cottage cheese

2 cups spinach (cook in microwave and then squeeze out water) chop

1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella

1/4 fresh grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

salt and pepper

2 cups(ish) of clean marinara

Cut the zucchini and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Saute in olive oil until just tender.  Set aside on plate with paper towel to cool.  In a bowl combine cottage cheese, spinach, mozzarella, parmesan, egg, salt and peper.  Mix well.  In a 8x8 pan ladle some of the marinara on bottom of pan.  Then layer cooled zucchini overlapping.  The next layer is some of the cottage cheese mixture.  Again add a zucchini layer.  And again a thin layer of sauce.  Continue layering again and ending with the sauce layer.  I then like to sprinkle a little more mozzarella and parmesan on top.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Remove foil and let set out for about 15 minutes.  This is important because zucchini has so much water in it this allows the lasagna to set back up a little.  

This dish is absolutely delish!  Gives you the comfort of lasagna but much better for you:)

Apple- Cinnamon Granola

One of my favorite breakfast eats is non-fat vanilla greek yogurt, fresh berries and granola!  It is simple to throw together and pretty dang good for you.  However, finding a good for you granola on the shelf can pose a problem.  Some are FILLED with sugar and preservatives.  Not good for you!  And have you seen the price of granola?  So what's a cheap, wannabe health nut to do?  Make my own duh!!  And that's what I did.  And I am sssssooo happy with how it turned out!!

Here is what you'll need to make your own goodness:

2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (NOT quick cooking)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup raisins

Combine all these ingredients together in a bowl EXCEPT the raisins.  They will be added after baking otherwise they will burn.

1/4 cup local honey
1/2 cup organic unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup ( I LOVE Walden Farms)

Mix all these wet ingredients together and then pour on top of the oat mixture.

Mix it well and then spread on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Make sure you stir it every 10 minutes and keep a close, CLOSE eye on it so it doesn't burn!  When it is golden and crunchy take it out and add your raisins.  Once it is cool add to an airtight container and enjoy!

I hope you all enjoy this simple delicious recipe and would appreciate if you would share the love by sharing my blog on Facebook or Pinning this post!