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1
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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Mix your tomato sauce, paste, and stewed tomatoes all together in a pot with some salt, pepper, oregano, and basil to taste and let everything simmer around and get to know one another.
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(Or if youre feeling slightly lazy, like I usually am, grab a jar of some decent quality and seasoned pasta sauce.
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No one will know.)
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Thinly slice all the zucchini lengthwise.
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Were not looking for medallions.
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Im talking as thin as you can get.
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This is where a mandoline would be useful.
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Just be careful of your fingers in any case.
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Put all the sliced zucchini in a large pot with a sprinkle of salt and fill till the zucchini are floating.
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Put on medium heat and bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
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(I know youre treating the zucchini like noodlesthats the idea!)
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Take them off the heat when theyre done and strain.
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Oil the bottom of the 9x13 pan and spread a little sauce in the bottom as well.
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In a LARGE saute pan, add some oil and saute the meat, onion, mushrooms, and garlic until the meat is cooked through.
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Drain the excess fat and then return everything to the pan.
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Add your jar of pasta sauce or the tomato mixture.
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Simmer it all for about 10 minutes.
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It smells so good at this point ...
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While the meat is simmering in the delicious goodness of the sauce, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, Parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, and seasoning salt.
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Have the grated mozzarella ready.
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Now for the fun part.
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In your 9x13 pan, layer the zucchini like you would lasagna noodles.
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Overlap them just a bit and cover the whole bottom of the pan.
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Then, spread half of the cottage cheese mixture.
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THEN, sprinkle half the chedder and mozzarella cheese over that!
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THEN, spread half of the meat mixture on top of that!!
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Phew.
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First half is done.
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Layer the zucchini again, like you did before, followed by the cottage cheese mixture, then the cheese, then the meat.
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And to top it all off, sprinkle some Parmesan on top.
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Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until sauce is bubbly.
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Let it stand for 10-15 minutes (if you can wait) and then CHOW DOWN!
