Zucchini Lasagna (Low Carb!)

I'm on a zucchini kick so I decided to make a zucchini lasagna for dinner tonight. Other zucchini lasagnas I've seen call for bread crumbs or noodles of some sort, but I kept mine simple starch free. You can change this a hundred different ways, but the one I made tonight came out very good. Review from Charlie: "I didn't even avoid the zucchini!!"

3 Medium - Large Zucchini's
16 oz of Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1/2 Cup of Parmesan
1 Tbs of Garlic Powder
1/4 Tsp of Dried Italian Seasoning
2 Tbs of Chopped Fresh Parsley
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes
2 Cups Mozzarella
1 Package of Jimmy Dean Reduced Fat Sausage
Salt & Pepper

Sauce:
1 Large Can of Crushed Tomatoes
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tbs of Olive Oil
1 Tsp of Italian Seasoning
Salt & Pepper

***ingredients were catered to a 8 1/2" x 6 1/2" casserole dish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute package of sausage. Set aside. Half will be used in the lasagna and the other half will be used in the sauce. Cut off each end of zucchini. Cut zucchini in half side ways. From each half, cut down thin slices (as thin as possible without tearing) of zucchini length wise to make "noodles". They should be about 4 inches long and 1 inch wide. Discard thick or uneven slices. Once complete, cook zucchini in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes or until they become tender. To make the ricotta cheese layer, mix ricotta, parm, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper to taste. I had to keep adding salt because the ricotta was pretty bland. Add a little at a time until the cheese tastes savory. Open the can of diced tomatoes and add a little to the bottom of your casserole dish. Add one layer of zucchini, dollops of ricotta mixture, sprinkle of sausage, dice tomatoes, sprinkle of mozzarella, and repeat. I believe I had four layers total. Once complete and all ingredient are finished, shimmy casserole dish to make sure all ingredients settle. Cover with tin foil and cook covered for 20 minutes. Cook uncovered for another 20 minutes or until lasagna is hot and bubbly.

While cooking, you can prepare the homemade sauce to top each serving of lasagna with. Add one tablespoon of olive oil to sauce pan. Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic and heat until fragrant. Add reserved sausage and saute. Add large can of crushed tomatoes and one teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low until lasagna is done cooking. If you have fresh basil, I would use that instead.

Make sure the lasagna rests before serving!!! It should sit for at least 30 minutes. If you don't do this, it will completely fall apart when you serve it. Top each serving with several spoonfuls of sauce. Sprinkle with a little parm and parsley and you're done!!!