Thrift Kitchen: Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna

I have been on a lasagna making kick lately. It’s one of those dishes that you can prepare the night before and pop in the oven when you get home for a work for a freaking amazing meal.

It also freezes really well. We are just the two here. After eating lasagna for lunch and dinner for 3 days in a row, I whip out the FoodSaver and drop a serving in each pouch. I label it all with the contents, date, and reheating instructions.

I started to wonder if I could get away with replacing the meat with some Textured Vegetable Protein and if it would pass the Jason test. (I’ve been trying to cut back on meat.) Taking a cue from the Sneaky Chef, I didn’t bother to tell him there was no meat in it until he had devoured the first piece.

I also swapped out the ricotta cheese I normally use for cottage cheese (which is what was in the fridge) We both actually liked the texture and taste more. Plus, it’s loads cheaper than ricotta, around here anyway.

Sneaky Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna

Serving Size: 1 – 3×3″ square
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cooking Time: 40 Minutes

Ingredients
* 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
* 3 cups small curd cottage cheese
* 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
* 6 cups tomato and basil
* 1/2 cup pureed cauliflower (steam or microwave to soften)
* 217 g Hunt’s tomato sauce
* 2 cups TVP, textured vegetable protein, dry
* 1 medium white onion
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 4 1/2 pieces dry lasagna noodles
* 1 tbsp bay leaf
* 1/2 tsp garlic powder
* 1 tsp sugar

Directions

1. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water.

2. Chop onions and saute them in the olive oil. While onions are cooking, thaw the frozen spinach.
Add bay leaf to the onion and stir well. Add spaghetti sauce, pureed cauliflower, and tomato sauce to the onions.

3. Add TVP to the tomato sauce and stir well. Add garlic powder, sugar, and pepper to taste.

4. Let simmer while preparing the cheese mixture. Drain spinach really well. Mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and spinach together.

5. Drain noodles and layer lasagna. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Layer in the pan: 3 noodles, then 1/3 sauce mixture, 1/3 cheese mixture. Repeat 2 more times.

Pop in the oven and bake for 40 minutes–until sauce bubbles around the edges.

I plugged this recipe into LiveStrong.com to calculate nutrition facts and this is what came back. It’s a pretty handy tool, especially if you cook a lot of the same meals at home (or make them in large quantities to save for later).

Have some fun in the kitchen today!

Kristin

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