Wow! This turned out great. I made a small batch to taste test, but as soon as dinner was over, I made a large pan and put it in the freezer for an easy dinner with friends.
If you didn't want to go through the task of making your own sauce, this recipe could easily be put together with a healthy no-sugar-added jar of marinara sauce.
1 pound Italian sausage
¾ pound grass fed ground beef
½ Cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
3 (6.5 oz.) cans tomato sauce
2 tsp Truvia (optional)
1 ½ tsp dried basil leaves
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 TBS Celtic sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
4 TBS chopped fresh parsley
1 head of cabbage
16 oz. ricotta cheese
1 egg
½ tsp salt
¾ lb mozzarella cheese, sliced
¾ Cup Parmesan cheese
Boil water in a large pot. Clean cabbage and gently peel leaves. Place in water, boil for 5 minutes or until soft and tender...they won't soften when you cook the lasagna. Remove from water and drain.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce. Season with stevia, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 TBS parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 tsp salt. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange cabbage noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per cup):
Traditional Noodles = 246 calories, 43 carbs, 5 fiber
Cabbage "Pasta" = 22 calories, 5 cars, 2 fiber
