Lambs Quarters & Zucchini Casserole
I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to waste anything I don’t have to. So when I saw all the lambs quarters in my mom’s garden that she wanted pulled out, I knew I had to step in and utilize them.
Mom’s garden
Now my mother tends a very large garden, and always has. With the help from a few of my siblings, we help plant and take care of it through the summer. Then in the fall we all benefit from our labor of love with some wonderful vegetables. This is a wonderful time for us to bond as siblings and family as well.
It is always fun to think ahead to the harvesting and canning of the delicious vegetables. Some of our favorites are making salsa with all the tomatoes and peppers and booyah, which utilizes just about every vegetable from the garden, with the addition of chicken.
Right now we are in the middle of summer and working on maintaining the garden, such as watering and weeding. Yes, I said weeding. But not just any weeding.
Weeding out the lambs quarters
In this garden are many “weeds” (according to my mother), such as lambs quarters and amaranth. So instead of just pulling and tossing the weeds, I collect them. This time I collected lambs quarters for eating.
Lambs quarters, also known as wild spinach, is very nutritious and can be eaten like any other green. It is one of the most common weeds you will find in gardens and backyards.
So you definitely don’t want to toss out such a plant! Well, I least I don’t.
I took the lambs quarters I collected and created a casserole dish that is absolutely divine! And I wanted to share it with you so you can enjoy this wonderful plant too.
Using lambs quarters
So the first thing you will need to do is to gather about 5-6 cups of lambs quarters leaves. If you have little ones, this would be a great way to have them help you out. They can help pick leaves for you! Once picked, rinse them and let drain.
Then, over medium heat, brown the ground beef in a fry pan. I add in the onions and mushrooms when the hamburger is almost done browning. Once the onions are translucent, drain off any excess grease.
While the ground beef or hamburger is browning, you can prepare the zucchini. I like to spiralize mine. You can either buy it spiralized, or buy whole zucchini and do it yourself. I like this spiralizer. It is simple to use and cleans up nicely.
Now you can start pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees.
Once you have the ground beef browned and the zucchini prepped, it is now time to put your casserole together.
Get out a glass casserole dish or cake pan. Spread a couple scoops of spaghetti sauce on the bottom to help prevent the other ingredients from burning to the bottom. Then start layering the zucchini, ground beef, lambs quarters, cilantro, cheese and sauce.
Keep layering till all ingredients are gone. Top the dish off with cheese. You can use more or less cheese, however much you prefer. I usually end up with about 2 layers of each ingredient before the pan is full.
Once the oven is pre-heated to 350 degrees, put the casserole in the oven to bake for about 30-45 minutes, or until the cheese is starting to turn brown.
I serve this with some garlic bread and a side salad. It is a very nice way to enjoy an Italian style dish without the pasta and carbs.
And of course, I have to have a nice glass of red wine to accommodate the meal.
I hope you enjoy this simple and nutritious dish as much as I had fun creating it.
Bon appetit!
[recipe title=”Lambs Quarters and Zucchini Casserole” servings=”6-8″ preptime=”30 mins” cooktime=”30-45 mins” difficulty=”easy” rating=”★★★★★” image=”https://www.theherbalcache.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/out-of-the-oven.jpg” description=”A healthy take on lasagna without the pasta.”]
[recipe-notes]
Credit: theherbalcache.com
[/recipe-notes][recipe-ingredients]
– 1.5 lbs ground beef
– 1 medium chopped onion
– 1/2 cup mushrooms
– 2 zucchini, spiralized
– 5-6 c. fresh lambs quarters
– 1 c. chopped cilantro
– 1 jar spaghetti sauce (I like to use my homemade sauce)
– 3 c. mozzarella cheese
[/recipe-ingredients][recipe-directions]
1. Brown the ground beef; add the onion and mushrooms and cook until onions are translucent.
2. Layer the hamburger mixture, zucchini, lambs quarters, cilantro, cheese and sauce. Add another layer of cheese on top.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until cheese starts to brown up.
[/recipe-directions][/recipe]
