Tofu Spinach Lasagna

(Don't mind the cut down the middle of my piece of lasagna...I was really excited to start eating it and then decided I should probably snap a picture before I forgot.)

I made a post about this amazing lasagna way back in July 2011. Since then I have adapted it, which means now I can post it on the blog without copyright issues. I adapted it from a recipe found in The Vegan Table Cookbook by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Seriously, this lasagna is so good (as in, my hubby and toddler both devoured it). Lactose intolerant friendly, and might I mention, a whole lot cheaper to make than the other meat and cheese types. (Meat and 3 kinds of cheese add up v.s. buying a package of tofu.)

Ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles (about half of a 1 lb pkg), regular or no-boil...either is fine
• About 9-12 oz. of fresh spinach, chopped, blanched, and drained
• 1 pkg firm tofu (16 oz)
• 1 Tb. sugar
• 1/4 c. rice milk...or any kind of milk really (regular, soy, etc)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 Tb. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. dried basil (or you can use 2 Tb. fresh, minced basil)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-24 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce, I prefer a tomato and basil type but any kind will work

Directions:

1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package.
2. Meanwhile, blanch spinach.
3. Next put the tofu, sugar, rice milk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil, and salt in a blender and blend until thick and smooth. This is going to be your "tofu ricotta," as the author Colleen Patrick-Goudreau calls it.
4. Put the "tofu ricotta" and the blanched spinach together in a large bowl and mix together.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (my oven heats up really fast...so to make it less hot for me in the kitchen I wait until I absolutely have to before turning it on. If it takes your oven a while, then turn it on as step 1 in the directions.)
6. Now it's lasagna assembly time. Use a 9 by 13 baking dish. Start with a little bit of the spaghetti sauce and cover the bottom of the pan. Then put 3 noodles down, covered with 1/2 the "tofu ricotta." Repeat the layers with about 1/2 of the remaining sauce, 3 more noodles, and the rest of the "tofu ricotta." Last put on 3 more noodles and use the rest of the sauce to cover the noodles up.
7. Bake for 40 minutes.

100th Post!! Tomato Basil Soup

Can you believe it!?

With your help we have collaboratively shared just under 100 recipes (a few of my posts have been no recipe posts) since July 2011. I think that is incredible and couldn't have gotten so many recipes without all of your contributions. Please keep sending them my way!

(Picture from Everyday Occasions.)

For our 100th post, this recipe comes from Vanessa H. She found it at Everyday Occasions.

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 - 14 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes
• 1 - 14 oz. can of whole tomatoes
• 2 cups of stock (chicken or vegetable)
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons of fresh basil, julienned
• parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute - being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the crushed tomatoes. Add the whole tomatoes one at a time, squeezing them into the pan to break them up. Add the juice from the whole tomatoes, as well. Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and sugar. Cook the soup on medium at a simmer for 10 minutes.

To finish, reduce the heat to low and stir in heavy cream and basil. Serve topped with parmesan cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich. Get the recipe for The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich here.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Lemon Pasta

(Picture from Smitten Kitchen)

This recipe was sent in by Vanessa H. She found it at Smitten Kitchen. The author of the blog
adapted it from Bon Appetit.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound spiral-shaped pasta
• 1 pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon plus more for garnish
• 1 5- to 5 1/2-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese (the pre-crumbled stuff will not melt as well)
• Fresh lemon juice to taste (optional)

Directions:

Cook your pasta in a large pot of well-salted water until it is almost tender, or about three minutes shy of what the package suggests. Add asparagus and cook until firm-tender, another two to three minutes. Drain both pasta and asparagus together, reserving one cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, combine olive oil, lemon peel, tarragon and cheese in a large bowl, breaking up the goat cheese as you put it in. Add hot pasta and asparagus to bowl, along with a couple slashes of the pasta water. Toss until smoothly combined, adding more pasta water if needed. Season genersously with salt and pepper, and lemon juice if you feel it needs a little extra kick.

Serves 6

Notes about this recipe:

1. I used Boursin Garlic & Herb Cheese instead of goat cheese.

Orange Cashew Rice

This recipe comes from Vanessa B. She found it at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1/2 cup roasted cashew pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped yellow peppers
• 1/4 cup chopped red peppers
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1 (8-ounce) can mandarin orange segments, drained well

Directions:

For the rice, in a 2-quart saucepan, bring the water, orange juice, orange zest, olive oil and salt to a boil. Stir in the rice. Cover the saucepan and lower the heat to a gentle simmer, simmering the rice for 25-30 minutes, until the rice is cooked through and the liquid has totally evaporated. Let stand, covered, off the heat for 5-10 minutes.

Scrape the rice into a large bowl. Add the cashew pieces, peppers and green onions. Season with salt and pepper and add the drained orange segments to the rice, folding them in gently to prevent the oranges from breaking.

Serves 4

If you don’t have basmati rice on hand, you can try substituting long grain white rice since it has the same basic rice-to-liquid ratio. Also, if your cashews are untoasted/unroasted, simply scatter them in a skillet and toast them for a few minutes on the stovetop for a few minutes until golden.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I used long grain rice and thought it turned out great.

Tomato and Corn Pie

(Picture from Smitten Kitchen)

This recipe was sent by Vanessa H. She found it at Smitten Kitchen. The author over there says she adapted it, barely, from Gourmet’s adaptation of Laurie Colwin’s and James Beard’s versions.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons or 3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 teaspoons melted
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 3/4 pounds beefsteak tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups corn (from about 3 ears), coarsely chopped by hand (my preference) or lightly puréed in a food processor, divided
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil, divided (skipped this, no harm was done)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 7 ounces coarsely grated sharp Cheddar (1 3/4 cups), divided
  

Directions:

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 3/4 tsp salt in a bowl, then blend in cold butter (3/4 stick) with your fingertips or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Add milk, stirring until mixture just forms a dough, then gather into a ball.

Divide dough in half and roll out one piece on a well-floured counter (my choice) or between two sheets of plastic wrap (the recipe’s suggestion, but I imagined it would annoyingly stick to the plastic) into a 12-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Either fold the round gently in quarters, lift it into a 9-inch pie plate and gently unfold and center it or, if you’re using the plastic warp method, remove top sheet of plastic wrap, then lift dough using bottom sheet of plastic wrap and invert into pie plate. Pat the dough in with your fingers trim any overhang.

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. If your kitchen is excessively warm, as ours is, go ahead and put the second half of the dough in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice.

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 10 seconds. Immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to cool. Peel tomatoes, then slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick and, if desired (see Notes above recipe), gently remove seeds and extra juices. Arrange half of tomatoes in crust, overlapping, and sprinkle with half of corn, one tablespoon basil, 1/2 tablespoon chives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and one cup of grated cheese. Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, basil, chives, salt, and pepper. Pour lemon mayonnaise over filling and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round in same manner, then fit over filling, folding overhang under edge of bottom crust and pinching edge to seal. Cut 4 steam vents in top crust and brush crust with melted butter (2 teaspoons). Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes, then cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes about this recipe (from the author over at Smitten Kitchen):

1. This recipe works exactly as-is, save one irksome issue: our pie was a puddle when we cut into it. I simply poured off the crust-sogging liquid, but I’d advise you to instead seed and juice your tomatoes if you bear it (I hate tossing the most flavorful parts, personally) or risk a mushy base.

2. This pie includes the curious instruction to peeling your tomatoes, which I first dismissed as an annoying extra step but in the end felt that it was absolutely brilliant. No chewy separating tomato skins! Just pure, instense peak-season tomato goodness. Consider me converted.

Penne with Roasted Asparagus

This recipe was submitted by Megan T. She found it at the Food and Wine website. Sneak on over to the link to see the picture (it was copyrighted so I didn't re-post it here). She says it's a great dish to make during asparagus season. She likes to serve it with fresh bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 pound penne
• 1/4 pound butter, cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400°. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a baking sheet and toss with the oil and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer until 3 tablespoons remain. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.
3. Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling, salted water until just done, about 13 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the butter, vinegar, asparagus, Parmesan, and the remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt. Serve with additional Parmesan.

The website also lists two other variations of this recipe, so if you are interested you can check them out here.

Baked Cauliflower Poppers

(Picture from Delighted Momma)

This recipe was sent in by Katie M. She says she is completely sold on the idea that any veggie would be improved with roasting. She also says she especially loves this dish because would make a great side dish but is also a super yummy finger food/snack. She found this recipe over at Delighted Momma.

Ingredients:

• 2 heads of cauliflower
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Wash and clean the cauliflower. Cut off and discard the stem. Cut the cauliflower up into small pieces.
3. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the cauliflower pieces and thoroughly coat each piece.
4. Place cauliflower pieces onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for one hour and turn 3 times during cooking until each piece has a nice brown coloring. The browner they are the better.
5. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Peach Crisp Pie

Happy Pi Day! In celebration of the date 3.14 and the mathematical pi, I made this delicious pie adapting three different recipes from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. (Choose-A-Fruit Crisp, Peach Pie with Candied Pecan Topping, and Easy Oil Pastry)

Filling:

• 4 cups canned or fresh peaches, diced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together and let sit for about 15-20 minutes. While it sits make the crust.

Easy Oil Pastry Crust:

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 Tb sugar
  
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 3 Tb milk

Stir dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add oil and milk all at once and stir lightly with a fork. Form into a ball. Press dough firmly onto bottom and up sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Put peach filling in and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. While it bakes make the crisp topping.

Crisp Topping:

• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  

Combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbles. After the pie has been baking for 20 minutes, pull it out and put the crisp topping all over it. (You may need to place the pie plate on a cookie sheet so if any juice spills over the top during the rest of the baking you don't have to worry about cleaning the oven.) Put it back in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

Enjoy!

Avocado-Tomato Melt Sandwich

This recipe was sent in by Vanessa H. She found it at What's Cooking America.

Ingredients:

• 4 English muffins, split
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1 to 2 large vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced thin
• Coarse salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven broiler to high. Under the broiler, toast English muffin halves on a baking sheet until golden brown. Remove from oven.

Top each muffin half with sliced avocados and sliced tomatoes; lightly salt the tomatoes.

Sprinkle chopped basil leaves over the tomatoes. Put a layer of mozzarella cheese over the basil, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and top with black pepper.

Broil prepared muffin halves for approximately 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese has melted. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Makes 4 servings.

Vulgar Bulgar Salad

This recipe was submitted by Maghann B. She adapted it from a cookbook she was given called Love At First Bite: The Complete Vampire Lover's Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups fine-grain bulgar
• 2 1/2 cups boiling water
• 2 bunches scallions, finely diced
• 1 cucumber (or 2 small cucumbers), diced
• 1 bunch mint, rinsed and finely chopped
• 1 bunch parsley, rinsed and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or more to taste
• salt to taste

Directions:

Soak the cracked wheat in the boiling water and let it absorb the liquid for about 20 minutes. After that time, if any water remains, drain it off so the grains are plump but dry.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredeints in a large bowl, tossing to combine well. Add the bulgar and toss together well. Set aside for about 1 hour so the flavors can mingle.

Notes about the recipe:

1. It's really minty, so if you don't like mint you may want to tone that down.

2. This last time I didn't have parsley so the picture shown is without it and I didn't have fresh mint on hand so I just used crushed dry mint and it's still good!

Sauteed Kale

(Picture from squidoo.com)

This recipe was sent in by Liz D. She found it at Food Network. Please note, the above picture is not the sauteed kale, but fresh kale...just in case some of you weren't sure what it looked like. (Before I started doing more veggie meals, the only time I had ever seen kale was when I worked at a college cafeteria and used it to decorate the ice by the condiments; I had no idea you could actually eat it.)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds young kale, stems and leaves coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft, but not colored. Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.

Asian Bowtie Pasta

This recipe was submitted by Vanessa H. She found it at the blog, Week of Menus. The original recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, but Vanessa left it out and turned into a delicious veggie meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb farfalle (bowtie) pasta (I used the mini farfalle)
• 1/3 cup canola, safflower or other mild tasting oil
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 red, yellow or orange bell peppers, cut julienne
• 1 cup of scallions, diced
• 3 tablespoons roasted sesame seed
• Pepper to taste
• 3 cups washed baby spinach
• 1/4 cup cilantro, OPTIONAL
• 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes, OPTIONAL
  

Directions:

Boil and cook pasta according to directions. Make sure to salt the cooking water. Drain pasta and set aside. Return the pasta pot back to the stove. (You don't need to wash it.) Add the canola oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and rice wine vinegar. Heat over low heat until the honey is dissolved. Remove from heat and toss in the pasta. Add the bell peppers, scallions, pepper, sesame seeds, cilantro (optional) and red pepper flakes (optional). Toss well to coat all the ingredients. Before serving, toss the pasta with the spinach, to keep the vibrant green as much as possible.

This can be chilled or served warm at room temperature (which was really delicious.)

Serves 6-8

Notes about this recipe:

1. I did NOT stir in the spinach at the end. I don't want soggy spinach in my leftovers, so I put some spinach on each plate and spooned the pasta on top.

Veggie Green Sauce Enchiladas

We love green sauce enchiladas at our house, and I finally found an acceptable substitute for the chicken in the regular recipe---quinoa!

Sorry there is no picture! We always forget to take one when we eat them.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 c. quinoa
• 1 1/3 c. water
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 c. (or more) sliced olives
• 1 10-14 oz can of green enchilada sauce (I can't remember the exact oz on the can)
• salt and pepper to taste
• flour tortillas, I prefer the smaller sized ones
  

Directions:

1. Cook the quinoa in the water. (Bring water and quinoa to boiling, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook until all water is absorbed--about 10-15 minutes)
2. Meanwhile saute the onion over medium heat. Then add the tomatoes, olives, and 1/4 c. plus 1-2 Tb. of the green enchilada sauce. Add the cooked quinoa. Salt and pepper to taste.
   
3. Put 1/4 c. of the enchilada sauce in a 13x9 baking dish.
   
4. Fill a tortilla with a spoonful of filling (at this point, if you are a cheese fan you can add some shredded cheese), then roll up and place the seam down on the dish. Continue with each tortilla until all the filling is used up (or you have no more room in your dish).
   
5. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce on the enchiladas and use a brush to spread it until each tortilla is covered. (Cheese eaters: Sprinkle cheese on top.)
6. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. If you are interested in things getting a bit crunchy on top, the at the end of the 20 minutes pull off the foil and broil for 1-2 minutes.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I can get 6-7 large tortilla enchiladas out of this recipe or between 9-11 small tortilla enchiladas.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Craving some strawberry shortcake? This is my quickie version. So tasty. So easy.

Ingredients:

• 1 white cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 c. oil
• some powder sugar, about 1/4 c. (for rolling cookies in)
  
• strawberries, as much as you want, chopped into tiny bits
  
• Optional: whipped cream or cool whip

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Combine cake mix, oil, and eggs together until thoroughly moistened.
3. Roll into 1 inch balls, then roll in the powder sugar till all covered.
4. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Gently press each cookie ball with the bottom of a cup.
5. Bake for 7-9 minutes. They should puff up a bit and should get a cracked look from the powder sugar.
6. Cool on a wire rack, then top with whipped cream and strawberries. Enjoy!
   

Notes about this recipe:

1. I actually haven't tried them with the whipped cream yet. I'm sure it is delish. It's super tasty (and less unhealthy) with just the strawberries on top too.
2. I wouldn't top them until they are about to be eaten. Keeps the cookie from getting soggy and toppings stay fresher.