One Skillet Lasagna

Eating healhy doesn't mean you can't enjoy your favorites! This goes great with a little bread or soft pita chips.

1 lb                  Extra Lean Ground Beef (90% lean, 10% fat)(Alternatively, you can use 1 lb Impossible Beef or even Ground Turkey)

2 Medium       Zucchini

1 Small            Yellow Onion

5 ea                 Button or Crimini Mushrooms

4 ea                 Garlic Cloves

8 oz                 Fresh Spinach

24 oz               Organic Marinara

8-10 ea            Fresh Basil Leaves

1 Cup               Low-Fat Cottage Cheese (optional)

¼ Cup              Shredded Parmesan (optional)

1. Start by cooking the Ground Beef in a large skillet until browned and all fat has been rendered out. Pour Beef into a strainer to drain any excess fat. Do not dump the fat into the sink, as it can clog your drain. Instead place a bowl under the strainer to catch the fat, then dump into the garbage once it has cooled. Save the meat in the strainer for now.
2. Cut your Zucchini by slicing it in half lengthwise, then into ¼ inch half moons and discard the ends. Place Skillet back onto medium heat, add the Zucchini to the pan, and let it cook.
3. Dice the Onion by removing the top, then cutting it in half through the bottom root. Lay one half of the Onion flat, then make ¼ inch wide cuts towards the root, but do not cut all the way through the root end. Then cut perpendicular to you first slices as close to the root as you can. Discard the root and add the diced Onions to the pan, then repeat with the other half of the onion.
4. Remove the stems of the Mushrooms simply by pulling or cutting them off. Cut the top of the Mushroom into quarter inch slices, then roughly chop up the stems and add it all to your pan.
5. Mince the Garlic by chopping them into very small pieces and add them to the pan.
6. Roughly chop the Spinach by piling it up and cutting until they are about ½ inch pieces, then add them to the pan.
7. Deglaze the pan by pouring in 3 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar. Allow all your veggies to cook for 5 or 6 minutes to get rid of their excess moisture and absorb the Balsamic Vinegar flavor.
8. Once all your veggies have become soft, pour in the Marinara sauce and stir to coat all the veggies, and bring to a simmer.
9. Once the sauce begins to simmer, add the Ground Beef From earlier and continue cooking everything in the Marinara for 3 or 4 minutes. This will help the sauce thicken and absorb into all of the ingredients.
10. While everything in the pan is cooking, pluck about 8 to 10 Basil Leaves and stack them on top of each other like a deck of cards. Roll them into a tube then slice down the tube of Basil until you have a small pile of Basil strips, then add them to the pan and stir it up. Cook for another 2 minutes or so to thicken the sauce to your desired consistency.
11. At this point we will add our cheeses if you are choosing to use them. If not, reduce the heat to low and let it cook slowly. If you are adding cheese, spoon a few dollops of Cottage Cheese around the top of your Lasagna. Then sprinkle ¼ cup of Parmesan all around the top.
12. If your pan is safe to put in the oven, place it on the bottom rack and set your broiler to the lowest setting. Close the oven and melt the cheese. Broilers can be tricky to gauge, so be sure to check on it every 30 seconds or so to make sure it doesn’t burn, but a little bit of browning and bubbling is ok. Remove from the oven once cheese is melted to your preference.
13. If you do not feel comfortable placing your pan in the oven, you can also just place a lid on top of it and reduce the heat to low and allow the steam to melt your cheese.
14. Once the cheese is melted, you can scoop yourself a serving of this tasty One Skillet Lasagna and garnish it with some leftover Basil or just eat it as is. There should be about 4 to 5 servings in this pan, depending on your appetite, so eating about ¼ of the pan will be between 450-550 calories. Enjoy!