a99kitten's Musings

It snowed! It’s winter! OK….not really winter (it will be 60 and sunny this week and melting my snow) but I’m excited for even a hint of it! Decided to make some cold weather food to celebrate!

Saw pics from a twitter/Instagram friend who made a zucchini lasagna. Mmmmm. Looked SO good! And I LOVE Italian food. But love it in the way of I-rarely-make-it-at-home-because-I-will-eat-it-all-in-1-sitting kind of way. BUT….zucchini instead of carby-carby-carberson noodles? OK! I can give that a try.

So I used the recipe my twitter friend used and changed it a bit to suit my tastes (my notes in italics):

INGREDIENTS:
4 large zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick (I used 5)
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, diced (I DID NOT USE AS I HATE ONIONS)
1 green pepper, diced
8 oz of sliced mushrooms (I ADDED THIS TO THE RECIPE)
Shot of red wine (I ADDED THIS TO THE RECIPE)
1 pound extra lean ground turkey
1 – 14 oz can tomato sauce
1 – 14 oz can crushed tomatoes (I used diced)
2 teaspoon dried oregano
handful of basil, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
handful of parsley, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
red pepper flakes, if desired (VERY MUCH DESIRED)
salt and pepper, to taste
15 oz part skim ricotta
1 egg white
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (maybe a touch more :) )
12 oz reduced fat or part skim shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place sliced zucchini on large non-stick baking sheet (or 1 coated with non stick cooking spray.) Sprinkle with salt and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes to help dry out the zucchini a bit. This is a critical step. I did 20 minutes and it was perfect.

While the zucchini noodles are roasting, you can make the sauce. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, mushrooms and peppers and cook a few minutes until veggies start softening and garlic is fragrant; stir occasionally so that you don’t burn it. Add in ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Add in tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, and a few dashes of red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 25 to 30 minutes or until sauce REALLY thickens up! Season with salt & pepper to taste. Remove from heat to cool. While it was simmering, I also added a splash of red wine (more like a shot-of-sherry-Mork-does-Julia-Child style!)

In a medium bowl, combine egg white, ricotta, and Parmesan. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Add in 1/2 cup of the slightly cooled meat sauce and stir to combine.

To assemble lasagna, spread 1/2 of the meat sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 inch nonstick baking pan (or coat regular pan with nonstick cooking spray.) Place zucchini slices evenly over meat sauce, spread on 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, then sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella on. Repeat layers again starting with the meat sauce, zucchini slices and ricotta mixture and finishing with mozzarella.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove foil and bake for 15 (I did 20 actually) minutes longer uncovered.

It is SOOOOOOO good! So good!!!! Totally making this again!!

This is the original link for this recipe (which itself is based off another): http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2014/08/healthy-low-carb-zucchini-lasagna-spicy-turkey-meat-sauce/

And hat tip to @kerotab on twitter and Instagram who enticed me with this recipe and sent me the link!

I am very sad tonight.

Robin Williams died. I read it first on forum for toys that I am part of. Funny place to see that news. I instantly searched twitter, because that’s far more reliable and instant than any news site or Facebook, and saw actual news stories from “respected” outlets (so not a twitter hoax which is just a f***ing mental dickness of some people. No…that is not a typo.)

And I got very, instantaneously sad.

When celebrities/famous people have died in the past, I can reflect on the loss. I can say “oh man…that sucks.” But I generally don’t get truly sad. I didn’t know them. They were people I watched from afar. They were figments of TV or movies or whatever. Ronald Reagan made me sad but in a “he was very old so not unexpected” kind of way. More of a loss of an ideal. It is sad they are gone, but more for the people actually in their lives than me.

But perhaps it’s because as people, we grow up watching these actors or singers. We go through our lives and they become part of it through memory. I know that I remember watching Good Morning Vietnam with my Mom and my little brother, both who I have lost.

I remember watching Mork & Mindy as a kid. With my parents. My Mom who is gone and my dad is who is in a nursing home – essentially gone.

I remember watching Mrs Doubtfire and The World According to Garp with my brother. And Hook. And Moscow on the Hudson. And Dead Poets Society. The Birdcage! Of course Goodwill Hunting. Or creepazoid One Hour Photo and Insomnia.

And oh my god Death to Smoochy had my brother and me rolling on the floor laughing as we talked about it. And holyhell the doctor in Nine Months!

And yes, I did enjoy his new show The Crazy Ones. And not just because it was with Buffy. I loved him. I’ve loved watching Robin Williams in anything since I was a kid. Heck – I even liked his Law And Order: SVU guest starring role. #notahappy

He was great in everything. I loved when he was on talk shows because he was able to take any subject, at any time, and run with it. Pure genius.

So maybe when we get so emotional about celebrities dying, it’s not only because we know we have lost the enjoyment they bring us when we watch them, but also what it represents in our own lives. The memories it stirs up. The ones we have truly lost in our own lives. Whether through death, or them leaving you. Family, friends, beloved doggies.

So yeah..I am very sad tonight.