Lasagna with a secret ingredient!

I recently found out a secret about lasagna... you can give it the flavor of sausage, without actually using sausage, along with all it's extra "bloat". :) I fed this to Mike, who generally doesn't like lasagna without sausage, and he had two large helpings and praised it up and down! Let me know what you think.

9 lasagna noodles
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 (15 oz.) containers marinara sauce (make sure it is a thick sauce, or the lasagna will be too runny)
1 1/2 c. ricotta cheese
1/2 c. mozzerella cheese, shredded
1/4 c. grated romano cheese (parmesan works)

Cook lasagna noodles for 10 min, set aside.

In a dry skillet over medium heat, cook the fennel seeds, shaking the pan and stirring constantly until lightly browned and fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Grind to a powder with a coffee grinder, or pound between two clean kitchen towels with a mallet until finely crushed.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, add beef, onion, bell pepper, and zucchini. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pan juices evaporate and the beef browns, about 10 minutes. Stir in the marinara sauce and fennel, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened and the flavors blend, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a 9x13 baking dish, spread 1/4 of sauce. Top with 3 noodles, spread with 1/2 cup of ricotta. Repeat the layering twice, ending with the meat sauce.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle with mozzerella and romano. Bake until heated through and the cheeses are lightly browned, about 20 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

This is the healthy version, if you like cheese, sprinkle romano and mozzerella after the ricotta on each layer. Mmmmm.