Zucchini Pasta Pie

My maternal grandpa or "Pap-Pap" as we call him always had a garden in the summer.   I remember those long gone hot summer days helping my grandparents pick tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, bell peppers, and other produce nearly every summer growing up. My Gram would sit with me, my cousins, and aunties snapping green beans and telling all kinds of stories. My grandma also cans. You name it she has canned it. She still makes her own stewed tomatoes which the family enjoys with homemade baked macaroni. My ultimate favorite veggie out of the garden was zucchini especially if it ended up in my mom's zucchini bunt cake. I do wish I was bringing you that recipe dear friends, but  alas I have yet to come up with my own yummy recipe that is gluten free and clean. A  few months ago I began experimenting with pasta alternatives and zucchini noodles are by far my family's favorite! Rich loves 'em and Bella too! Today's recipe is a fresh twist on spaghetti pie. I hope you enjoy it!

Zucchini Pasta Pie

2 large zucchini washed and shredded into pasta strips with a julienne peeler
1 cup of skim ricotta cheese
2 TBS of chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
dash of fresh grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
17 oz of Pomi Tomato Sauce
Parmesan cheese


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 glass casserole dish. Steam zucchini pasta for 10-15 minutes or until tender. In a mixing bowl combine ricotta, basil, garlic, nutmeg, pepper and salt. Drain zucchini and toss with pasta sauce and place in casserole dish. Spread ricotta cheese mixture evenly on top of zucchini noodles and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minutes until browned and bubbly. To add extra protein add in cooked lean  ground turkey with the zucchini and sauce.

Today's Workout Blip:

Today's workout from my Get in Shape Girl Bikini Plan worked my shoulders and arms. One of the challenging and scary exercises for today is the Clean and Press. I pulled my back out in January and ever since then I am very careful with my exercises and routines as to stave off injury (I'm almost 30 ya'know!) I really am loving my step mill workouts and look forward to them on my Thursdays with this plan. It is almost had to believe I dreaded this cardio workout and avoided it the first 2 weeks of the plan. Below is a 25 minute step mill plan for you to try from Shape Magazine.

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Until next time stay strong and carry on!

Brooklynn