Saturday, December 5, 2009

Zucchini Ricotta Bake

This is a wonderful recipe. It is like lasagna, but you use sliced zucchini instead of noodles. I made it the other night, and my family loved it!

Zucchini Ricotta Bake

2 lb. zucchini
1 carton (15 oz or 500 gm) light ricotta cheese
Egg substitute equivalent to 2 eggs
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs, divided
5 T. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 T. minced parsley
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. dried basil
1/8 t. pepper
1 jar (26 oz) low-sodium spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 c. (6 oz) chredded part-skim reduced-fat mozzerella cheese

Cut zucchini lengthwise into 1/4 in. slices. Pleace in a basket over 1 in. of boiling water. Cover and steam for 5-6 minutes or until just tender. Drain; pat dry. In a bowl, combine ricotta, egg substitute, 3 T. bread crumbs, 3 T. Parmesan, parsley, oregano, basil and pepper; set aside. Spread a third of the spaghetti sauce in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with 2 T. bread crumbs. Cover with half of the zucchini, ricotta mixture and mozzerella. Cover with remaining sauce. Combine remaining crumbs and Parmesan; sprinkle over top. Cover and bake at 350 F (about 180 C) for 45 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 12 servings

Nutritional Analysis: one serving equals 210 calories, 237 mg sodium, 21 mg cholesterol, 18 gm carbohydrate, 12 gm protein, 9 gm fat, 3 gm fiber. Diabetic exchanges: 1 starch, 1 meat, 1 fat, 1/2 vegetable.

*I also added 1 lb. lean ground beef sauteed with 1 onion and 3 garlic cloves. I also omitted the bread crumbs. Obviously, this would change the nutritional value some, but it was very good, and made a hearty main dish.

I hope you will try this recipe. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Tami

1 comment:

Unknown said...

OOOO I can´t wait to try it!!

Thanks for posting this Tami!

Dani Joy