kale and zucchini mock lasagna

I had very little food left in my house after the snow event a couple weeks ago. (Granted, I often don't have much food-- I tend to buy as I cook rather than stocking up on stuff, especially fresh produce, which I prefer.)



So I needed food... but more importantly I needed a recipe so I could have a plan in my food-buying. Enter Kalyn's Kitchen. I decided to go with her recipe for sausage and kale mock lasagna casserole. I have never cooked with or even eaten kale before but I was optimistic that it would be tasty.



I followed the recipe almost exactly... with a few little changes. I added a layer of zucchini on top of the kale, because I love zucchini. (I made a lasagna awhile ago and replaced the noodles with zucchini and it was really good!)



I also added some Italian seasoning to the sausage along with the ground fennel and dried basil... oh, and I used sweet Italian instead of hot Italian sausage. I'm a spice wimp and didn't know how spicy the hot would be.



I had some "heart healthy" tomato and basil spaghetti sauce on hand, so I just used that for the sauce. I should have used more... the recipe calls for 3 cups but my jar was only 10 oz (about 2.5 cups).



After preparing all the pieces, it was time to layer! I did kale, parmesan + mozzarella cheese mix, zucchini, cheese, sauce, cheese, and then all again. (I just got the mixed cheese pre-grated instead of separate parmesan and mozzarella. It was cheaper.)



It was lovely baked up...



But even better plated. And SO GOOD.



Kalyn came through, once again. (I've made a couple of her other recipes, too... Mexican red lentil stew with lime and cilantro and grilled portobello mushrooms stuffed with sausage, spinach and cheese. Both were really, really good.)

Have you tried anything new lately? Or have a great recipe source to share? Kale might be my new obsession.