TheHub loves Italian foods and since he was on his own for meals last week I thought I might make something specifically for his tastes. At the same time it had to be something I could ketofy for me with little trouble. Lasagna in a bowl was the perfect compromise.
This is cooked in one of those old corning ware 1 1/2 inch deep small baking pans. It worked but I did have to spoon it out onto the plate. Kinda messy (see pic below) An oven proof bowl would have been much better!
Bottom Layer
Noodles or zoodles*
Cook the noodles and/or the zoodles then place in a ovenproof bowl/bowl
Next layer
1 cup marinara sauce (I used Rao's because it is a low carb sauce and I had it in the pantry )
1 pound (total) ground chuck and Italian sausage mixed (or use either one, your choice)
1 small onion diced
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, chopped in smallish bits
1 carton sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning ( I did use more but we like highly seasoned food)
dash dried red peppers
salt and pepper to taste
Brown the ground beef and Italian sausage (I take the casing off of the sausage and cook it crumbled but you do it however you like). Add the onion to the mix, then spoon off any grease before adding the garlic just to wilt it. Toss in the zucchini, stirring all the while then add the mushrooms. Cook for a couple of minutes then stir in the marinara sauce. Add your additional seasoning, stir well and let it simmer on low while you make the cheese center.
Split the mixture between 2 bowls and spoon on top of the noodles or zoodles
Cheesy layer
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
1-2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Using a spoon just stir and mix everything well
Divide the mix and spread it over the meat mixture in the bowls .
Topping
1/3 cup marinara sauce
mozzarella cheese, grated. (I used very little because the dish already had more than enough cheese for me)
Spoon the sauce gently over the ricotta mix.
Pop the bowls** in a 350 degree oven until it is hot and bubbling, then add the grated mozzarella. Run it under the broiler until it is as melted as you would like it to be remove and eat. It was really tasty and satisfied TheHubs love for Italian while allowing a keto compliant dish for me.
Unfortunately thisdid not come out of the pan very neatly, and the cooked zoodles left a lot of liquid in the bottom of the dish. Still it was very good!
I zapped the zoodles in the microwave, but did not cook them enough to get all the liquid out. (My mistake)
Then, this morning I was looking at a keto Facebook group I belong to and someone posted about having Alfredo sauce over an egg wrap that had been sliced thin like fettuccine noodles and was raving about the texture. I think I will try that next time if I can find the egg wraps at Aldi.
** It turns out even with all the kitchen stuff and dishes I own, I have no small oven proof bowls. I did have some small corning ware casserole dishes, so everything was baked in those. I swore I was going to buy no more dishes, but now . . .
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