As you probably know, I'm supposed to be wheat, corn, and potato free . . . and rice noodles tend to be pretty nasty. Which means that if I want any type of noodle dish, I need an alternative. For a while, I've been using my kitchen contraption for turning zucchini into noodles . . . and those are really good. But it's nice to mix it up every once in a while . . . even if you're still eating the same food. This dish was inspired by a recipe I found for making enchiladas with zucchini.
First, I sliced the zucchini very thin with my mandolin. I found mine on Amazon, and I absolutely love it! It's perfect for slicing anything . . . including apples to make apple chips!
I cut two zucchini in half, both across and long ways. Then I sliced them with the mandolin fairly thin and placed the first layer in my greased 8x8 pan. Since it's just myself and my husband, this was the perfect size dish for us. But since it ended up so tasty, I'm planning on making it in the full-size pan next time.
Next, I cooked up 1lb. ground beef (I'd use more if you're using a bigger pan) with a little seasoning and mixed in spaghetti sauce. I then alternated zucchini and the meat mixture until I was out of meat sauce. I placed a layer of mozzarella cheese on top and baked it in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
And voila! This really was tasty AND low calorie AND gluten-free. You could also make it dairy free by removing the cheese or using dairy-free cheese. I'm planning to experiment with this more . . . maybe substituting shredded chicken for the beef. Or making an enchilada-esque lasagna.
Spaghetti and meatballs. Such a heart-warming dish. Takes me back to Lady & the Tramp.
When I went gluten-free, however, spaghetti & meatballs became much more difficult. If you've ever tried to substitute rice noodles for wheat noodles, you know what I'm talking about. So the search was on for a tasty alternative. Skeptical at first, I've come to absolutely love turning zucchini into noodles! And here's the first part of today's recipe corner:
Noodles with a Twist
One of the best (and most inexpensive) purchases I ever made for my kitchen collection was this handy tool. You twist the food through it (squash; zucchini; cucumber; etc.), and it creates extremely long noodles! Then all you need to do is fry them up in a pan with a little olive oil, add some seasonings and your sauce, and voila! Spaghetti!
I chopped up mushrooms to mix in with the noodles and sauce.
Once I mixed in the sauce, it looked and smelled amazing!
And then came part two: the meatballs.
I adapted the recipe from this phenomenal recipe from Bravo for Paleo. I substituted ground turkey for the ground pork. I would also in the future recommend increasing the amount of spices you include. And potentially adding in some parmesan cheese if you so desire. Bonus: these meatballs freeze extremely well!
First, blend together the meats and the spices by hand. This part is sticky and squishy, but it's a lot of fun!
Next, roll the mixture into small balls and place on a cookie sheet covered with tin foil. You'll bake them at 350 for 20 minutes.
Once your meatballs are finished, add them to your spaghetti and dig in! Next time, I'm going to make more! It was so delicious!
