Meatless Mondays #2

Brent and I were behind a truck full of chickens the other day.  They were jammed in there, couldn't stand up straight, and I'm pretty sure one was frowning at me and mouthing "help."  It was sad.  As I was awwwwing and feeling guilty about enjoying that Caribbean chicken the other night, Brent said the following statement: "You know, I wouldn't mind eating less meat.  Maybe we should only eat meat a few days a week."  I am completely on board.

So last night it was zucchini bake and salad.  Here's the recipe:

about 2 1/2 pounds of zucchini (about 3 big ones)          (on sale at Bi-lo for 1.49/lb= 3.55)
2 packages of sliced mushrooms                                     3.00
4-5 diced tomatoes                                                         2.50
1 onion                                                                           .50
1 Tbsp of minced garlic                                                   fridge
12 oz. shredded mozzarella                                              2.50
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan                                                 fridge
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil                                             pantry
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning or a combo of any Italian seasonings (like basil, oregano, etc) that you have on hand

1. Slice the zucchini into thin strips... almost like lasagna noodles... and let them sit out for 1 hour to dry up a bit
2. Heat the oil in a big skillet.  Saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes, then throw in the mushrooms and saute for 6-7 more minutes until they look soft. 
3. Throw in all of the tomatoes and Italian seasoning and cook for about 20-25 minutes.  You should end up with a sort of chunky sauce.
4. Heat the oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray
5. place a single layer of the zucchini slices on the bottom of the pan.  Cover with 1/3 of the sauce.  Cover that with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.  Cover that with another single layer of zucchini.  Cover with 1/3 of the sauce and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese.  Cover that with a final layer of zucchini, the rest of the sauce and the rest of the cheese (include the Parmesan cheese here).
6. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes.

When Brent took a bite of this he immediately said "yuuummmmm!"  I looked at him like--you realize that was a mouthful of zucchini right?  It's so delicious.  Mine only has 2 layers because 2 of my tomatoes were bad, and I didn't feel like going out to get more.  If you divide the pan into 6 servings, you're at 1.59/serving!  It's seriously good, and seriously healthy.  I got the base for this recipe from a Weight Watchers recipe, which actually called for more cheese and fewer mushrooms.  You know you could probably throw just about any veggies you have on hand in the sauce too (I think it would be really good with red peppers!)  Enjoy your meatless dish!  Hopefully we'll be having more of these vegetarian dinners throughout the week.  Now I just have to get Brent to stop eating chic-fil-a for lunch. :)