• Mix together your favorite pasta sauce, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, and cooked ground meat and set this mixture aside. (season to taste)
  • In a medium sized mixing bowl, add cream cheese, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, half of the mozzarella cheese, and sour cream.
  • Mix well and set aside.
  • In a 9 x 13 baking dish, ladle out a bit of sauce to slightly cover the bottom of the baking dish.
  • Lay 3 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce.
  • Using half of the cream cheese mixture, spread across the noodles evenly.
  • Using half of the pasta sauce mixture, spread across the noodles evenly.
  • Repeat and use the rest of the cream cheese mixture, noodles, and sauce.
  • Top with remaining shredded mozzarella.
  • Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
  • Remove foil and cook for another 10 minutes or until cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.
  • Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Hot Mama Grade: A

Hot Mama Notes: I made a mini version of this (about 1/4 recipe) for my bunco friend that is gluten free. Instead of regular cooked noodles, I used slices of zucchini sliced longways, approximately 1/8 inch thick. Otherwise, I mostly used this recipe. I did add 1/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of Penzeys frozen pizza seasoning and Italian seasoning to the cream cheese mixture, as that is what I am used to doing in my normal lasagna recipe. I ran out of basil, so this was my substitute (!!!). I can't believe I have no basil, but these things happen some times. I have fresh in the garden but I am lazy! 🤣🤣 I used ~3 oz cream cheese and an equivalent amount of sour cream. I also ran out of ground sausage and turkey, so I used spiced chicken sausage from Costco which is super delicious. I used regular Kroger brand basil spaghetti sauce. For cheese, I used 1 tablespoon of parmesan and 2 tablespoons of mozzarella. So 3T in the cream cheese mixture, and 3T on top. I mostly followed these directions listed. Little bit meat sauce on bottom, then zucchini slices, half of cream cheese mixture, half of meat sauce, more zucchini slices, rest of cheese mixture, rest of meat sauce, 3T of cheese. It is double wrapped in foil and ready to bake tomorrow! I think I will do 45 minutes or so as the zucchini is not cooked, and the dish is going from frig to oven. Adventures in cooking! 🤣🤣

Grade A from my oldest. Everything was eaten before I had a chance to try it! 🤣🤣

I also found inspiration from this recipe:
https://downshiftology.com/recipes/zucchini-lasagna/#wprm-recipe-container-35678

Ingredients:
4 large zucchini
2 pounds ground beef
24 ounces pasta sauce
15 ounce ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan regianno
1 ½ cups mozzarella
1 egg
salt and pepper
small handful fresh parsley and basil , chopped

Directions:
  • Slice zucchini. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin slices, as thin or thick as you'd like. Set aside.
  • Make bolognese. Add the ground beef to a large pan over medium-high heat. Finely break down the ground beef with a spatula and pan-fry until browned and no longer pink. Then, pour the pasta sauce on top (remember to reserve 1/2 cup) and stir together, then remove from heat.
  • Make ricotta mix. In a medium bowl, make the ricotta mix by stirring together the ricotta cheese, parmesan, egg, salt and pepper
  • Add the first layers. Spread 1/2 cup of pasta sauce onto the bottom of your 9×13-inch casserole dish. Then add your zucchini slices on top of the pasta sauce. They can overlap or you can place them side-by-side.
  • Add the secondary layers. Top the zucchini with 1/2 of the bolognese sauce, and evenly spread 1/2 the ricotta mix on top of that. Then, add 1/2 cup of grated mozzarella with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and basil.
  • Repeat these layers one more time.
  • Finish the topping. Top the lasagna with a final layer of zucchini slices, a sprinkle of chopped parsley and basil, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese.
  • Bake. Place the lasagna in the oven and cook for 40 to 45 minutes. Broil for a couple of minutes to get a nice golden top. Garnish with whole basil leaves and serve.