Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Family friendly Vegetarian Lasagne


One of my family's favorite recipes is one that I adapted from a Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook about thirty years ago. I was really young at the time...of course! The recipe called for a lot of ingredients that a poor starving student was unable to afford at the time, although I loved the idea of the recipe.
I decided to try to reproduce my own version of the recipe using fewer ingredients as well as less expensive choices. At the time, I was a college student and stay at home (working very hard) mom, so cutting corners and saving time were two very important assets in my hectic life. Every recipe I had tried from this cookbook had been wonderful, and I really wanted to try the vegetarian lasagne, so I set about planning how to best approach the recipe change. What came about was a dish that even die hard meat eaters and those who detest spinach have tried and loved. This recipe has been well-tested over the course of time and eaten by many of my family, friends, and strangers alike; all of whom love it and ask for the recipe. The recipe is simple, takes only a small amount of time to prepare, and is easily adaptable to your own taste.
Easy Vegetarian Lasagne - Susan Style!
Preheat oven to 350*
  • 2 to 3 cans well drained, chopped spinach
  • 1 pkg. oven ready lasagne shells (newly adapted in the past few years to save time and one less step in the recipe)
  • 2 (16 oz.) cans tomato sauce (more if you like it saucy)
  • garlic salt to taste
  • 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese ( I prefer Tillamook or Vermont white sharp cheddar myself)
Cover the bottom of an oblong clear glass or corningware pan with tomato sauce. Place a single layer of oven ready or cooked lasagne shells on the tomato sauce. Add more tomato sauce to cover the shells , then top with garlic salt. Add one can of chopped spinach; spread to cover all the shells. Add more tomato sauce, garlic salt, and sharp cheddar cheese. Repeat this step. Finally, layer remaining shells, tomato sauce, garlic salt, and cheese. Place in preheated oven for about 60 minutes until shells are tender and cheese is bubbly. (If you use cooked shells, you can cut the cooking time down to 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with warm garlic bread and watch your family smile as they devour their food nd ask for more.
That's it! To serve larger crowds, just double the recipe.
I have actually converted a lot of folks who say they don't like spinach into spinach lovers with this recipe. I hope you and your family will enjoy it as much as mine does.


Blessings,
Susan

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like a delicious recipe Susan. It made my mouth water just reading it! Thanks for sharing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Dolores,
    It is definitely one of my family's favorite dinners. I really hope you enjoy it if you decide to try the recipe.
    :)Susan

    ReplyDelete