One of my favorite foods that I knew I would miss when I had to go gluten-free was lasagna. I love it! So I set about trying to find a recipe and not really finding any that would work for me, so I started to piece together ideas and came up with this one! I love it so much I can’t even begin to tell you.  Try it – let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

• Half a medium onion – chopped
• Half a green pepper – chopped
• 1 pound of protein (I use grass fed, local beef but vegan crumbles would work too might just need a little more italian seasoning)
• 1 spicy italian sausage (local) or vegan sausage as long as you can squeeze it out of the case
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1.5 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Ingredients
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
• 1 package of chopped up fresh mushrooms
• 2-4 total Zucchini and yellow squash (depending on size)
• 1 small eggplant
• 12 asparagus
• 1.5 cups of mozzarella cheese
• 6 ounces of part-skim ricotta cheese (you can also use the tofutti vegan ricotta if you like. I did try to use it in a subsequent version of this and it turned out decently!)
• 1 jar of favorite marinara sauce

Prep:

• Chop up the onion and green pepper
• Slice up the zucchini, yellow squash and half eggplant
• Wash asparagus

What you need:

• 12×6 lasagna pan
• Parchment paper

Directions:

1. In a 12 inch skillet (seasoned cast iron preferably) brown the protein (pound of meat/meat substitute and the sausage which you need to squeeze out of the casing)
2. Drain once browned
3. Add in garlic and stir
4. Add in onion, garlic and green pepper, allow to cook for a few minutes until it starts to soften
5. Add mushrooms and cover for 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms reduce
6. Add one jar of favorite marinara or tomato sauce and 1 Tablespoon of italian seasoning
7. Add crushed red pepper and black pepper
8. Stir and cover to simmer for 5-10 minutes
9. Line the pan with the parchment paper and put a little sauce in the bottom
10. Then start layering the raw vegetables and cheese
11. Start with zucchini and cover the bottom; put a half Tablespoon of ricotta on each slice of Zucchini/Squash; sprinkle italian seasoning on the ricotta; spoon and spread sauce to cover the layer; sprinkle mozzarella to taste; layer eggplant, asparagus and layer of zucchini; put a half Tablespoon of ricotta on each slice of Zucchini/Squash; sprinkle italian seasoning on the ricotta; spoon and spread sauce to cover the layer; sprinkle mozzarella to taste. Repeat until you reach the top and then cover with mozzarella.

Bake in over on middle rack for 40-45 minutes at 350-375 depending on your oven. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes once cooked.