Primal Lasagna (Paleo friendly)

Ingredients
2 lbs grass fed ground beef
1 27 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 27 oz can of diced tomatoes
8 cremini mushrooms
1 onion, 2 carrots
5 cloves garlic
dried basil, oregano, marjoram to taste
1 TBSP paprika, 1/2 tsp organic turmeric
2-3 large Zucchini for noodles, 5-6 leaves fresh basil
1.5-2 whole tomatoes, sliced thinly, 1/4 cup finely grated pasture raised hard cheese (optional)


Begin browning your meat in a large saucepan while you dice your onion and carrot. Add to the meat and simmer slowly. Once it’s almost all brown, add your garlic and spices and let cook for about 15 minutes on low heat, stirring often. Chop your mushrooms up to bite sized pieces and add to the pan. Cook with the lid on for about 5 minutes then take the lid off and simmer for about 10 minutes or so. This cooks off a lot of the juices that are released from the mushroom. This recipe does not use hard pasta so you want as much of the liquid gone as possible. Open your crushed tomatoes and drain as much of the water as possible. Add it to the meat and simmer for a while, then add the sauce. It’s best to let this stuff simmer on low for a long while, occasionally taking the lid off the pan to release water.


Zucchini, eggplant or yellow squash work equally well for the "noodles" in this dish but I prefer zucchini. Cut your "noodles" just as you begin browning the meat. If they are allowed to dry for a few hours, they release less water into the final dish. I cut mine about 1/8 inch thick. Too thin and they don’t hold the dish together, too thick and it doesn’t work. A mandolin slicer makes this super easy but it can be done with a sharp knife and a slow pace. Caveman food need not contain blood for authenticity.


Once the meat sauce is ready, ladle out about 1 cup or so into the bottom of your baking dish. Place a layer of "noodles" on top of that, then take half of what’s left of the meat sauce and spoon over the "noodles". Here is where you can add a light sprinkling of cheese, as well as a few fresh basil leaves ripped into pieces. Add another layer of "noodles" and the rest of the meat sauce.


Top with a layer of finely sliced whole tomato and a generous amount of ripped basil leaves. Sprinkle your cheese on top. Bake in the oven at 375 for about an hour (gotta cook those "noodles"). If your meat sauce is piping hot when you layer, it may take only 45 minutes. Either way, turn the oven to broil for the last 10-15 min of cooking and then let it set on the counter for about 20 minutes before serving.