Serves 4
Hands-on time: 15-20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour+
Using cottage cheese instead of ricotta, half the fat without sacrificing the taste!
Ingredients:
1 1-lb eggplant, cut into 1/2″-thick rounds
1 zucchini, cut into 1/2″-thick rounds
1 yellow squash, cut into 1/2″-thick rounds (optional)
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-1/2 cups 2% small-curd cottage cheese
2 tsp dried oregano
Olive oil cooking spray
6 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella
Fresh basil for garnish, optional
1. Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spread eggplant, zucchini and squash out in a single layer on sheets, leaving a slight space between each round. Bake for 30 minutes; remove from oven and set aside.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium for 1 minute. Add onion and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cottage cheese and oregano.
3. Lightly coat an 11 x 17-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line bottom of dish with zucchini and squash, using all round and overlapping them so dish is completely covered. Top with cottage cheese mixture. Arrange eggplant over cottage cheese in overlapping rows, then top with mozzarella. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve immediately, garnishing with basil, if desired.
Nutritional breakdown: 250 cal, 23g protein, 19g carbs, and 10g fat. Sodium 600 mg.
***Bonus! Total recipe costs approximately $10 to make or under $3 per serving!
Original recipe: August/September issue Clean Eating 2011
Note: We’ve mastered this recipe and now enjoy it on a regular basis. We mostly use zucchini as our main veggie of choice. Sometimes we mix YVES veggies product with the cottage cheese to increase the protein content. We switched the mozzarella for a soy-based cheddar cheese as well. Lots of variations. We may even include some lentils next go-round.
Please let us know what you think!
