Zucchini Lasagna

This sounds like an overly-healthy lasagna, which might make veggiephobes run and hide, but it's actually a pretty basic lasagna recipe with thin layers of zucchini instead of noodles.

I plant zucchini every year and this year, they did pretty well. I usually let the squash get to be 1-1.5 feet long, so we usually have a lot of zucchini in the summer and fall! There's really only so much zucchini bread you can make to get rid of it, so I had to get more creative this year. This lasagna recipe became a favorite and something I will look forward to along with zuke bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 large zucchini, sliced long-ways into 8" strips
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1.5 tablespoon dried oregano
• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1.5 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1.5 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Get out an 8x8 baking pan
2. Using a mandolin, slice zucchini long-ways into 8" strips. You'll need roughly 12 strips.
3. In a skillet, heat some extra virgin olive oil. Sautee onions until tender. Add ground turkey and cook completely, until meat is no longer pink. Add the can of crushed tomato and season with the oregano, salt, and pepper to taste.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
5. In the 8x8 pan, layer the ingredients: zucchini, ricotta mixture, meat mixture, mozzarella and parmesan. Repeat once more. Top with another layer of zucchini and top with mozzarella and parmesan.
6. Cook, uncovered, until lasagna is bubbling on the sides. Let rest about 10 minutes before serving.

Greek Salad

I love my homemade Greek salad. I never had anything like this growing up. It wasn't until our honeymoon on an Alaskan cruise that I had Greek salad for the first time. When we got back into the real world, I had to try and replicate it!

We love this recipe because, really, we just feel so healthy when we have this for dinner! (Extra piece of dessert, anyone?) It's part of my growing search to incorporate meals into my regular list of recipes that reflect the ideas of the Mediterranean diet, where the greatest portions of food are plant-based, replacing bad fats with healthy fats, and eating more fish and poultry over red meat. Whole, healthy eating.

I don't measure anything for this recipe; it depends on how many veggies you use and then how you want the dressing to taste, but I'll give a general recipe.


Ingredients:
Salad:

• 1 large cucumber
• 1 can black olives
• 1 small red onion
• 3-4 medium tomatoes
• Feta cheese

Dressing:

• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Red wine vinegar
• Lemon juice
• Dried oregano
• Dried thyme
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Chop vegetables and toss into a large bowl.
2. To make dressing, combine about  1/3 cup EVOO, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1.5 tablespoons oregano, 1 teaspoon thyme, 0.5 teaspoon pepper, and a little bit of salt to taste. Mix these ingredients well in a separate bowl. Tweak dressing with these ingredients until it tastes perfect.
3. Pour over veggies, toss, and crumble on Feta cheese.

Variations:
To make this feel more like a "meal," we may add chicken and/or quinoa. Cut 2 chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano, and cook in a pan with a little bit of EVOO until done. Add to salad. Another great ingredient to add, with or without the chicken, is quinoa. Add about 1 cup of cooked quinoa for more fiber and protein!

Week 11 Dinners and Low Grocery Bill

I had a very good day grocery shopping. Not only did my baby sleep through the entire trip, but I managed to get a week's worth of groceries--breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for two adults and ingredients for homemade baby food--for only $45! No coupons, no overly-processed food that tends to be cheap. I also bought freezer bags and ingredients to make and can my own Apple Butter Barbeque Sauce, so my grand total came to $55 this week.

The greatest ways I saved money were by using up foods that I had previously bought in bulk. Two of my meals this week called for ground beef--unless it's a hamburger, I almost always substitute the healthier ground turkey for ground beef. I already had two pounds frozen in the freezer, so I did not need to buy it this time. I also had frozen red and yellow peppers from last week's stuffed peppers. I cut up and froze the tops of the peppers that I cut off to make the cups. No waste! I also bought butternut squash when it was on sale a few weeks ago; foods like squash and potatoes will stay good for many weeks (or months) if cleaned off and then kept in a dark, cool place. So when they're on sale, stock up! Finally, because the risotto and lasagna make so much food, we actually got a freebie day by eating their leftovers for dinner on day 4 and lunch on day 5. I could have frozen half of the risotto, but the flavors actually got better the next day and the day after!

Here's what's for dinner this week:

1. Greek salad
2. Butternut squash barley risotto
3. Zucchini lasagna
4. Leftovers! (risotto and lasagna)
5. Lemon and thyme stroganoff
6. Mushroom and spinach calzones
7. Roast chicken with balsamic peppers

Hello!

"Freedom From Want" by Norman Rockwell

What has happened to the family dinner? How have we lost the intimacy of sharing a home-cooked meal, around a table?

I think there's a crisis in our culture. Children are growing up eating meals in front of the TV or alone in their rooms, not with their families. People are eating out more than cooking at home. Young adults don't know how to cook meals. People are eating overly-processed foods for the sake of convenience. We've lost an art, like the nostalgic images found in a Norman Rockwell painting.

I'm determined to change that. Here in my domestic church, in my growing family, sharing a meal around a table will be a priority. We won't pick from a list of fast-food, take-out "restaurants" for dinner, but I will prepare our meals. I will plan my meals to save money at the grocery store and minimize waste from only buying what we need on a weekly basis.

I'm learning along the way. I hope this blog will inspire another family to slow down and make family time a priority. That together we can recognize that Christ gathers us together for a Heavenly Meal each time we gather together at Mass, and that our homes can reflect that intimate, family gathering on a smaller scale.

Let's learn to eat healthier. Let's eat whole foods rather than processed foods. I don't buy organic; I can't afford it. But you can eat healthy on a budget with a little planning. We are running a marathon at a steady pace, not sprinting and crashing; healthier lifestyles take time. You take it one step at a time, making little changes into habits and then a way of life.

Come and take this journey with me!