I wonder why you scrimp and save to send your kid off to college to become a doctor or lawyer and he comes home a vegetarian?! Could this be my fault? Was it my constant admonition "better finish your vegetables"? I never had to push him to eat his meat. He would woof down a slice of meatloaf with guilt free abandon. Or do you think it could have something to do with his pretty vegetarian girlfriend? Well I guess it doesn't matter who the finger gets pointed at, the fact remains he came home from college for the summer a changed fellow and put the nix on all my great summer barbecuing ideas. It is also hard to feed him his favorite childhood foods now that he has sworn off of them. So I have spent a great deal of time that could have been spent doing something productive, like watching reality tv shows, searching for easy vegetarian recipes. I did manage to convert a few of my old standbys, like lasagna. Its very edible. I'll share the recipe with you below. But you can only eat so much lasagna and you can only eat mashed up garbonzo beans so many times before the boredom sets. My family complained less after I found a collection of all in one stuff that taught me all I wanted to know about vegetarianism and feeding vegetarians. It has a lot of recipes that even my husband will eat. Its got recipes for holidays too so I am all set for impressing the pretty girl friend at Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you want to check it out,Click Here!
Ok, so I admit that since I have learned more about vegetarians I have been eating less meat and missing it less. Have even dropped a couple of pounds. So I will continue to cook up some meatless meals even after my son goes back to school.
Now on to the lasagna. Simple recipe. The hardest part is dealing with a carnivorous husband who says " I like it the way you used to make it" before he even gives it a try.
Ingredients
1 lb. Tofu Steak- Yes, even though it does not look, feel or taste like a T-Bone, this is what it is called. I found mine at Kroger in the refrigerated section next to the high priced salad dressings. Sometimes its just called firm tofu.
I onion chopped
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 16 oz. pkg. lasagna noodles
1 8 oz carton Ricotta cheese
1 8 oz pkg. shredded mozarella cheese
About a half cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cook lasagna noodles according to pkg. directions then cool and drain.
Sautee the onions in a litle olive oil until soft and then add the tofu that you chopped or crumbled up so that it resembles ground beef. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on that and just stir that around for a few minutes until its warmed up, then just dump in your favorite 28oz.(or two 16oz if you like it saucy)jars of spaghetti sauce,warm and remove from heat.
Choose a long pan or baking dish, preferably a 13x9. Spray the bottom with Olive Oil Pam or just rub a little olive oil around.Lay out some of the lasagna noodles to cover the bottom. Ladle some of your onion tofu sauce on top, then some feta cheese and some mozzarella. Sprinkle that with Parmesan. Continue layering the noodles, sauce and cheeses that way until you run out of stuff.Cover it with aluminum foil and cook in a 350 degree oven for about a half hour. It should look hot and bubbly now. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Let it stand at least 10 or 15 minutes before you cut it.
You got a lot of protein packed into this but not much iron so round it out with a spinach salad and some fruit.
I'll keep you posted as I continue my "maybe I'll become a vegetarian" journey.
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