I’ll be honest: I haven’t done much cooking this summer. Between busy weekends, spending a lot of time with RM and cooking with him, having things after work and really just not having motivation to cook in the heat, I’ve been subbing out real meals with easy substitution meals (eggs have been a big hit here). But, a few weeks ago I made time on a Sunday night to make a recipe I found in the Hannaford’s “Fresh” Magazine. Have you ever read through one of those magazines? They are free with a purchase of $20 or $25 or more and always have the best recipes in them!

The recipe was really easy to follow and not overly labor-intensive (does anyone else feel like Cooking Light recipes are super labor intensive??) and I was a big fan of all of the ingredients!

 

Zucchini Quinoa Lasagna

Ingredients (from Hannaford’s Fresh Magazine- Zucchini Quinoa Lasagna)

• 2 large zucchini
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 11/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 Tbsp. reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 (23 to 26 oz.) jar marinara sauce
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare the zucchini: Trim ends. Use a mandolin slicer or very sharp knife to slice zucchini lengthwise into long, flat noodles.

2. Layer zucchini on paper towels and sprinkle with salt, then cover with more paper towels to absorb moisture. Let noodles sit while you prepare the quinoa.

3. In a large saucepan, combine quinoa, broth, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, and oregano and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Gently stir in cream cheese, pepper, and basil until incorporated.

5. Assemble the lasagna: Pour enough marinara in the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch pan just to cover the bottom. Wipe zucchini slices dry and lay about 4 slices over the sauce. Spread half the quinoa in a layer over the zucchini, then sprinkle with a third of the mozzarella cheese. Top with a third of the remaining sauce, then another layer of zucchini, remaining quinoa, half the remaining cheese, and half the remaining sauce. Top with a final layer of zucchini. Pour on remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

6. Cover pan with foil and bake until zucchini is tender and cheese is brown and bubbling, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove foil during the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking so cheese will brown. Let rest for 10 minutes, then slice into rectangles and serve.

Source: Hannaford fresh Magazine, May – June 2014

The only thing that I would change about this recipe is subbing out the 2 tbsp of cream cheese for a wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese. I thought the quinoa/cheese/sauce mixture was a little bland and think that by adding a flavored cheese the flavor would have been intensified. I would also add more seasoning to the mixture to jazz it up.  Otherwise, I followed the recipe pretty much to a T and really enjoyed eating it throughout the week.

Although there’s protein in quinoa, if you wanted to add a little extra you could certainly add in some ground chicken or turkey or beef- I think that would be delicious!

If you’re looking for other lasagna recipes, check these out:
Summer Squash and Zucchini Lasagna
Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, Kale & Ground Turkey Lasagna
Butternut Squash, Kale and Goat Cheese Lasagna! (the pictures aren’t showing up in this post for some reason- I have to fix it!)

The Zucchini and Summer Squash Lasagna recipe is quite possibly the most popular recipe on this little blog!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite type of lasagna? Do you like the traditional version or do you like to change things up? Where do you get most of your recipes from?