Vegetarian Lasagna with Spinach, Mushrooms and Peppers
My quest last weekend was to find or create a great vegetarian lasagna recipe. Our company is volunteering at Ronald McDonald House next week making dinner for the residents. We decided we should provide a vegetarian option for those who want it. So I set out in search of a good vegetarian lasagna recipe.
I wanted something more that just noodles and cheese, but I wasn’t sure what would happen if I added a lot of veggies to it without cooking them down first. It took me a couple of attempts to perfect it. The first time I made it it was a little watery. But the end result is delish.
The beauty of this recipe is that it is super-easy. There is no need to cook the noodles ahead. Just throw them in with everything else. I put in lots of sauce and the veggies cooking down seemed to provide enough moisture to effectively cook them. I think I have discovered a new family-favorite, quick, easy, delicious and filling.
I hope you like it too! If you find a way to make it even better do let me know!
Here’s what you’ll need:
1 pkg whole wheat lasagna noodles
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 15 oz tub light ricotta cheese
1 cup sliced mushrooms
Handful of baby spinach
1 diced red bell pepper (or half red and half orange)
2 24 oz jars/cans low sodium marinara sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick spray. Spread marinara sauce over bottom of pan.
Then place dry noodles, ricotta, peppers, mushrooms, baby spinach, mozzarella cheese.
Then place another layer of noodles, followed by sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, peppers, spinach.
Place a third layer of noodles followed by sauce, ricotta, mozzarella.
Place a final layer of noodles followed by sauce and mozzarella cheese. Spray a piece of tin foil with non-stick spray Place the tinfoil over the pan and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Serve with Caesar salad and crusty bread!
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Wheat Berry Waldorf Salad
A few weeks ago you may recall I made a Wheat Berry Salad with Strawberries and Dried Cherries. It was my first time making wheat berries and I learned that a little bit of uncooked wheat berry goes a long way when you cook them! So I froze half until I could figure out what to do with them. I’m happy to report that freezing them for a few weeks worked just fine.
Growing up I always remember my Mom making waldorf salads, so when I came across this recipe that combines a traditional waldorf salad with wheat berries I knew it would be a winner! I adapted it from Whole Foods’ Wheat Berry Waldorf Salad.
I hope you enjoy it!
Here is what you’ll need:
1 1/2 cups uncooked wheat berries
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 medium chopped apples
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups chopped cabbage
6 tbsp apple juice
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Place wheat berries in large pot and fill with water so there is approximately 2 inches of water above the wheat berries. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered for an hour or until tender adding extra boiling water as necessary. I had to cook mine for a little over an hour and used the kettle to add extra water as it boiled off. Drain off excess water and let cool.
Place cooked wheat berries in a large bowl.
Mix lemon juice and apple juice together in a small container. Chop apples and dip them in the juice. The citrus will keep the apple from turning brown in salad. Add apple to the bowl with the wheat berries.
Add apples, walnuts, raisins, cabbage to the wheat berries and mix well.
Add apple cider vinegar and olive oil to apple and lemon juice mixture and mix well.
Combine salad and dressing.
Serve in your favorite bowl!
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Potato, Squash and Chickpea Curry
This weekend, along with all my gardening and planting, I was looking for something new to make. I love a good curry and anything that can be easily made in a crockpot is always a winner in my book! So when my Mom faxed me a recipe she found in Canadian Living Magazine it sounded like the perfect recipe for this Memorial Day Weekend.
The recipe she sent was for Potato, Squash and Chickpea Coconut Curry but I have adapted it to use almond milk instead of the coconut milk and added some additional veggies. Coconut milk is very high in saturated fat so I always try to avoid it when I can. The almond milk worked really well and I don’t think the flavor was sacrificed at all. It is delish!
Serve it on a bed of rice or couscous. I used brown rice since I had it on hand but basmati would also be excellent! I used spinach instead of swiss chard since I didn’t have any. I also used peanut butter instead of cashew butter for the same reason! 🙂
Makes 6-8 servings.
Here’s what you’ll need:
2 cups of butternut squash, cubed
2 cups of potato, cubed (I didn’t peel mine–just made sure they were well washed)
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup cauliflower, cut in small pieces
1 can chickpeas (15 oz in the U.S. 19 oz in Canada), drained and rinsed
1 tbsp canola oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
3 tbsp mild curry paste
2 cups almond milk
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup cashew butter or peanut butter
2 cups packed shredded swiss chard or spinach
1 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Place squash, potato, chickpeas, carrots and cauliflower in bottom of crockpot.
In frying pan, heat oil on medium heat and cook onion, garlic and ginger about 7 minutes until onion is golden.
Add curry paste and cook while stirring for about 1 minute until fragrant.
Add the onion mixture to the crockpot. Add vegetable broth and almond milk. Stir in peanut or cashew butter. Cover and cook for approx. 4 hours or until vegetables are tender. I cooked on high because I don’t think my crockpot gets very hot, so if you have a very good crockpot you may want to try it on low.
Once vegetables are tender, stir in peas and spinach or swiss chard until it is wilted, about 15 minutes.Sprinkle with cilantro.
Serve on a bed of basmati or brown rice or couscous.
Veggie Yogi 