Tag Archives: vegetarian

Veggie Lasagna

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I should be studying for my last final of the semester but instead I’m going to share a recipe. It’s not often that I share a recipe that doesn’t contain sugar or butter. Given that I’m a dietitian-to-be and a veggie-lover, I’m making an effort to share healthier recipes. This lasagna recipe contains lots of veggies, fiber and whole grains- and it’s really delicious.

This lasagna has become a highly requested item in the family. I first made it on a whim back in September. My aunt and uncle  really liked it and requested I make it again for Thanksgiving. {We have a pretty non-traditional Thanksgiving spread}. Then, my other aunt asked me to make it for a family dinner at her house.

Honestly, I’m surprised it’s such a hit. You see, there is no meat in this. It is full of veggies and whole grain lasagna noodles. There’s still plenty of cheese though. You can’t have lasagna without lots of gooey cheese! Each time I make the lasagna, it’s a little bit different. I throw in whatever veggies/spices/herbs I have on hand. The recipe below is the most recent lasagna I made.

Start by boiling a bit pot of water and cooking the noodles according to directions. Once the noodles are cooked, drain them and set them aside. The next step is to make the homemade sauce. It’s easy and tastes much fresher than store bought. You start by chopping onion, garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms.

Next, heat olive oil in a big saute pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and onions. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add all of your chopped veggies. I used zucchini and mushrooms. You could also add eggplant, red pepper, carrots, etc. Whatever veggies you like!

Once you’ve let the veggies cook for about 10 minutes until they are soft, add a can of crushed tomatoes and white wine to the pan. Season with salt, pepper, and any spices you have on hand. I used an Italian herb blend. At this point I also added a few handfuls of chopped sun dried tomatoes.

Cover the pan and let it simmer for 20 minutes. The sauce will thicken and reduce a bit. Now you can add fresh herbs and a lot of chopped spinach.

If you like a more “saucy” lasagna, you might want to add another can of crushed tomatoes. As you can tell by the picture below, I like a thicker sauce.

While the sauce is cooking, mix together part-skim ricotta, 2 eggs and Parmesan cheese.

To assemble the lasagna, start by adding a few spoonfuls of sauce to the bottom of a baking dish. Place lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Spread the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles and then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Add a layer of sauce and repeat.

I think I was able to fit about 5 layers into this baking dish. The last layer of noodles is topped with the rest of the tomato sauce and cheese.

Bake the lasagna at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

This lasagna makes a lot of servings, at least 12 big pieces. Perfect for a family dinner. You can also make this ahead of time and then freeze the lasagna before baking. This might be a good item to keep in your freezer during this time of year. You never know when you will have unexpected guests. Or be too tired to cook after shopping.

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Veggie Lasagna

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 3-4 small zucchinis
  • 8 oz mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 28 oz crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup sun dried tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp Italian spices
  • 8 oz baby spinach
  • 1 cup fresh basil
  • 32 oz ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 oz shredded parmesan cheese
  • 8 oz shredded mozzarella
  • 16 oz whole grain lasagna noodles

Instructions

  1. Bring a big pot of water to boiling. Add lasagna noodles and cook according to directions.
  2. Chop onion, garlic, zucchini and mushrooms.
  3. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high.
  4. Add onion and garlic. Turn the heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
  5. Add zucchini and mushrooms, cooking for about 10 minutes until soft.
  6. Stir in crushed tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, and wine. Bring heat back up to medium high until sauce begins to simmer.
  7. Season with salt, pepper and Italian spices.
  8. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.
  9. While sauce is simmering, mix together ricotta, eggs and Parmesan. Set aside.
  10. To the sauce, add fresh basil and spinach. Mix until the spinach wilts then take the pan off the heat.
  11. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  12. To assemble the lasagna begin by adding a few spoonfuls of sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Add a layer of lasagna noodles, followed by the ricotta mixture. Top with mozzarella cheese and then a layer of sauce. Repeat until you have 4-5 layers (or as many as will fit in the dish). Don't be afraid to press on the layers to pack them tightly.
  13. For the final layer, top the lasagna noodles with tomato sauce and cheese only.
  14. Cover the lasagna with foil.
  15. Bake for about 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly.
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Alright. It’s time to cram a semester’s worth of statistics into my head. By tomorrow afternoon I will be done with my first semester of grad school!

Lentil Soup

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Soup isn’t something you usually associate with spring, but considering it is snowing, soup fits perfectly. Obviously, this weather sucks so I’m not even going to talk about how sick I am of this cold . Last night I was in the middle of studying for a physiology test so I needed to make something easy for dinner with whatever ingredients I had in the pantry. It took me about 15 minutes to prep the ingredients and throw them in the pot. Then for 45 minutes I let the stove do it’s thing, while I continued to learn about cardiac physiology. Just as I was finishing the study guide, my soup was ready. I couldn’t have timed it better.  

Lentil Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

2 (8 oz) cans of condensed tomato soup

8 cups water

2 cups dried lentils

1 tsp salt

In a big soup pot, heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spices and stir. Mix in tomato soup, water and lentils. Add salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer and cover for about 45 minutes.

Top each bowl with Parmesan cheese and serve with warm crusty bread.

Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Stir Fry

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I can’t believe my Spring Break is over. I didn’t get as much done school-wise as I had hoped, but I am okay with that. I realized I hadn’t had a true break since last summer. Europe in November was awesome, but definitely not relaxing. I spent all of Christmas break/January working on internship applications, studying for the GRE and working full-time. This week I decided to focus on ME. I went to yoga almost every day, ran a few times, made fun dinners every night, read for fun (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest), got my haircut, and just enjoyed a slower pace of life for a couple days.

I am not excited to for the rest of this semester, but only 9 weeks left. My summer is up in the air because it depends on the internship outcome. The one thing I do know is that I am going to Houston for about 2 weeks in June for my cousin’s wedding. I am flying down early in June to help her with last minute things. I’m excited to get out of Minnesota!

One of the dinners I made this week was Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Stir Fry.

Tofu is one of those “scary” foods to try for the first time. I enjoy tofu, but I like my tofu to be crispy on the outside. I’ve discovered that the key to crispy tofu is to buy extra-firm tofu and then press it to draw all of the liquid out. I start by opening the tofu package and draining out the extra liquid. Then, I take the block of tofu, wrap it in 3 layers of paper towels, place it on a plate and stack heavy items on it.

The tofu is hiding underneath a slab of Silestone, my biggest cook book, and a molcajete. Let it press for about 30 minutes. When you are done the paper towels should be completely soaked and you should have liquid on your plate.

Now you can cut the tofu into pieces and use it in the following recipe.

Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Stir Fry

*Adapted from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton
Tofu:
1 pkg extra firm tofu
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
Teriyaki Sauce:
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup water
3 1/2 tbsp honey
1-1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp molasses
5-6 medium cloves garlic
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cornstarch
Stir Fry:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
5 cups broccoli florets (or a package of stir fry veggies)
1-2 tsp water
1 bell pepper
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
Serve with brown rice
Directions
1. In a shallow bowl, add tofu. Pour soy sauce and vinegar over tofu and marinate for 10 minutes or longer. Flip tofu once while marinating.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk all ingredients for teriyaki sauce until cornstarch is dissolved.
3. In a large frying pan or wok on high, heat 1/2-1 tbsp oil. Add tofu and saute for 4-5 minutes, then turn over and saute for another 3-4 minutes, until lightly brown on each side. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Reduce heat to medium, add another 1/2-1 tbsp oil to wok and add broccoli and water. Toss, cover and cook 4-5 minutes, until broccoli turns bright green, then add bell pepper and saute uncovered until another 1-2 minutes have passed.

5. Add teriyaki sauce and increase heat to high. Toss to coat and let sauce come to a slow boil. As soon as sauce has reached a slow boil and has thickened, add tofu, cashews and green onions and toss to combine. Remove pan from heat and serve over brown rice.