First things first, the winner of the Energybits giveaway is Brittany Ann Trentham!
I had planned a post for today, but after a long day of running around to multiple doctor appointments (establishing new doctors for myself and my husband), getting the first trimester blood work done, meeting with our contractor for our garage gym and trying to catch-up on a long household to-do list, I just wasn’t inspired to write it, hence the reason why this post is so late! Today was one of those days where I wasn’t motivated to do much of anything, except take a nap and spend some quality play time with Keenan, which both didn’t get to happen! Do you ever have days where you feel exhausted, though you really haven’t accomplished a whole lot?
Anyhow, let’s move onto something WAY more fun and super delicious that I promise your family will love…Zucchini Pizza Casserole! I recently stumbled upon a recipe for a deep dish zucchini pizza pie from Love & Primal that inspired me to do some experimenting, since we had a ton of zucchini. With the words pizza, who can go wrong?
I love one-pot meals, especially for week nights when dinner time can be hectic, so I wanted to create an all-in-one meal that could be made ahead of time and popped into the oven. This turned out to be a BIG hit in our household, in fact my husband and Keenan have already asked when I’m going to make it again! Here you go…
Ingredients
- 5 small or 4 medium shredded unpeeled zucchini
- 3 large beefsteak tomatoes (sliced)
- 1 large white onion (sliced)
- 1 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts (or packed in water)
- 2 cups pre-cooked and chopped Italian sausage or meatballs (or other meat of your choice)
- 2 egg whites
- 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp garlic no-salt seasoning
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9 X 13 inch class baking dish.
- Mix zucchini, egg whites, spices, ricotta, cheddar and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese together in a medium size bowl.
- Press zucchini mixture into baking dish, making sure to also cover the sides of the dish.
- Bake zucchini mixture for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are slightly brown and all moisture is gone.
- Once zucchini is out of the oven, layer tomato slices on top, making sure to not leave any open spots.
- Next, create your layers by adding your meat first, followed by the onions, artichoke hearts and a 1/4-1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Make 1-2 additional layers, using the remainder of your ingredients.
- At the very end (on top of your final layer) sprinkle your desired amount of Parmesan cheese on top and bake for 20-30 minutes, until brown and cheese is bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
If you don't have fresh tomatoes on hand, you could use chopped canned tomatoes or pasta sauce.
To save time, make this ahead of time (bake zucchini bottom and assemble all layers) and store in the fridge until you are ready to bake it and serve for dinner.
Store left overs in the fridge for a tasty lunch the next day!
Questions:
What is your favorite one-pot, make ahead meal?
During the week, do you tend to make more one-pot or simple meals to make dinner time easier?
Finally a delicious-sounding casserole dish that does not involve pasta! This looks great. Pinning for sure 🙂
Thank you! Let me know how you like it!