Vegetarian and Vegan Lasagna

A week ago, I purchased two tin foil lasagna pans to make vegetarian and vegan lasagna.  Well, I have a couple of funny stories to tell about the vegetarian lasagna.  The first story is that I never made lasagna before.  Instead of looking up a recipe, I bought three jars of pasta sauce, vegetables, two boxes of no-boil noodles, and cheese, and then decided that I would look up on the internet as to how to layer it.  A little bit backwards, I know.

 

The second funny thing is that it originally started out as being a non-vegetarian lasagna, loaded with ground turkey meat.  However, after making all of the layers, I realized that the cooked ground turkey meat was still sitting in the skillet on the bar stool.  So much for that!  I decided that I would use this meat to make my own version of nachos with cheese, piled with toppings for lunch for three days.

 

Activity:  Making Vegan and Vegetarian Lasagna

Total Prepping and Cooking Time:  1 and 1/2 hours

 

   Ingredients:

• 3 jars of pasta sauce
• 2 cans of spinach
• 2 cans of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
• 2 boxes of NO BOIL lasagna noodles
• 2 tin foil pans, 1 for vegan lasagna, 1 for vegetarian lasagna, or 9×13 casserole bowls if you have them
• 1 1/2 bags of shredded cheese (regular cheese)
• 2 bags of Daiya shredded Pepperjack cheese
• 1 pack of Lightlife Smart Ground Vegan crumble meat
• 2 Zucchinis
• olive oil or grapeseed oil or vegan butter
• 2 packs of mushrooms

Directions:

1. Saute the mushrooms in vegan butter and minced garlic.
2. Saute spinach, zucchini, and diced tomatoes with grapeseed oil, adding the mushrooms when they are done. 
3. While the veggies are sauteing, place the smart ground into olive oil for a little bit.  It will finish cooking in the oven.
4. Pour pasta sauce into the bottom of each pan.
5. Add columns of the lasagna noodles on top.
6. Add all the vegetables into a big bowl.
7. Using a wooden spoon, scoop the vegetables, layering them on top of the noodles, and then layering the vegan crumble(or whatever meat), and then cheese.
8. Pour another layer of pasta sauce.
9. Continue this pattern of layering noodles, vegetables, meat and cheese, with a final layer of noodles on top, with sauce and cheese on top of the noodles.
10. Bake at 425 degrees for one hour.

 

Both pans together is about 18 servings.

See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43: 19, NIV