Moussaka

Moussaka is basically a Greek lasagna-type dish made with either eggplant or zucchini instead of pasta. I'm not a huge fan of eggplant, so I use zucchini, which I absolutely LOVE. I learned about this dish while watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. I saw how it was made, and looked pretty easy like lasagna, so I decided to do my own version. I made this with my bolognese sauce with ground turkey. But this can totally be a vegetarian dish if your sauce doesn't have any meat. I especially like the topping, which is basically a white gravy/beschamel sauce that I make. This is another one of my signature potluck dishes. Its a great way to sneak in a little vegetable into someone's diet. I did with my daughter!

4-6 zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 3 pieces
5 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used my bolognese sauce)
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Topping:
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grill zucchini slices until half-way done. Spread bread crumbs on the bottom of a casserole dish.

2) Place a layer of grilled zucchini slices on top of the bread crumbs. Pour 1/3 of spaghetti sauce on top of zucchini. Place another layer of grilled zucchini and then spaghetti sauce. Repeat procedure until you have used up your zucchini slices or until you have made 3 layers.

3) TOPPING: In a saucepan, melt butter on medium heat. When butter begins to bubble, add flour and whisk for about a minute to make a roux. Gently pour in milk while vigorously whisking, to avoid lumps. Cook mixture until it begins to boil, stirring occassionally to avoid burning. When mixture begins to boil, remove from heat. Add nutmeg, salt & pepper to taste.

4) Pour topping over prepared zucchini layers. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.