Holly's Cheesy Vegetarian Lasagna

Ingredients:
(I got all my ingredients from our local Farmer's Market.  Nothing like FRESH veggies :)

Your favorite Mushrooms; 1pkg.
3-4 Fresh Garlic Bulbs; finely chopped
1 large Vidalia Onion; finely chopped
1 large Red Pepper; diced
3 Medium Zucchini; diced
4 Vine Tomatoes; diced
1 whole Broccoli; chop tree tops off & in half if too big (want them bite size)
1 1/2 Leeks; chopped & halved
8 oz Baby Spinach; can use fresh or frozen; I prefer fresh
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Box No Boil Lasagna Noodles
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
3 cups Milk
2 Tbsp. Butter
15 oz. Ricotta Cheese
24 oz. Cottage Cheese
1/2 cup Fresh Shredded Parmesan Cheese
BIG bag shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Italian Seasoning
salt & pepper to taste

Make It:

Heat oil in large skillet.
Add onions & red pepper; cook about 5 minutes.
Add zucchini & broccoli; cook another 5 minutes or until soft.
Add tomato & leeks; season with Italian Seasoning; stir frequently; cook roughly 7-8 minutes.
Set aside

Separate skillet - heat oil; add mushrooms & garlic; cook for 3-5 minutes.
Add lemon juice & season with salt & pepper.
Cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated. (approx. 5 minutes)
Set aside

In saucepan over medium heat, put milk & whisk in flour, add butter.
Cook 5 minutes, till thick, stirring constantly.
Stir in parmesan cheese & season with salt and pepper.
Cook 1 minute; stir constantly.
Remove from heat; stir in spinach.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta and cottage cheese

Lightly grease deep dish casserole dish.

Layer your lasagna:

1-Start with spreading a thin layer of spinach cheese sauce on bottom,
2-No boil lasagna noodles (I use 8 noodles per layer)
3-Ricotta & cottage cheese mixture,
4-All veggies combined mixture,
5-Top with spinach cheese sauce,
6-Shredded mozzarella cheese

And repeat.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
VIOLA!

 ALOT of prep work and love went into these veggies! ;p

It's been awhile...

Hi all,

Josh and I have had A LOT going on in both of our lives these past 6 months and hope you all haven't given up on us.  Still cooking...still eating...still creating...when we can!  

As Josh, I too have taken on a very little meat diet...actually pretty much have gone vegetarian 90% of the time.  I don't think I could ever give up cheese, my greek yogurt, and I like an egg every once in awhile so I guess I kind of fall into the Lacto-ova-vegetarian category.  I recently picked up this new Vegetarian cookbook and am LOVING it!  I hope you will enjoy a few of my favorites from the book that I've put my own twist on the recipes.

I hope to get back to creating more for myself and everyone as well as Josh get back on and give us some more of his creations.

So to start us back out again - I have my very own first vegetable lasagna baking in the oven as we speak.  I will go ahead and post the recipe and a picture will follow when it's complete!

Take care...and happy eating.

Crispy Tuna Cakes

But Josh? Meat? And fried? Yes!! These are by far the best tuna cakes I have ever had! And a very surprising ingredient turns into a very cheese like texture. Potato! Kids and adults alike will love these crispy dinner treats! Makes 8 cakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 Can New Potatoes (Cubed)

1 Can Tuna (Drained)

1 Cup Bread Crumbs

3/4 TSP Garlic Powder

1/2 TSP Parsley Flakes

1/8 TSP Ground Red Pepper

2 TSP Mustard

1 1/2 TSP Olive Oil

Boil cubed potatoes until soft, then mash leaving very small chunks. Heat large skillet with 1/2 inch of oil over medium heat. Empty drained tuna into medium bowl, flake with fork. Combine mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup of bread crumbs and all other ingredients into tuna and stir with fork until evenly combined. Form patties out of approx. 1/4 cup of mixture. Pour remaining 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs on plate. Lay patties flat onto breadcrumbs lightly coating each side. Drop into oil. Flip once 3-4 min in until crispy and brown on both sides. Let stand on newspaper or paper towels for 5 minutes before serving.

Read up. Eat up. Enjoy!

- Joshua

Crispy Garlic Crackers

The crackers are to die for! And are so much better for you than any of the flavored crackers you would buy at the grocery store. They are so good you will want to keep the recipe for when you have people over and just want a quick snack to serve with a homemade dip!

Crispy Garlic Cracker Ingredients:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

4 TBSP Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Warm Water

1/8 TBSP Ground Red Pepper

1/2 TBSP Garlic Powder

2 TBSP Parsley Flakes

1 TBSP Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 400. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Using one hand mix ingredients and kneed until you have a ball of dough. If it feels a bit thin you can add small amounts of flour by hand until ball is formed. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place dough in center of tray. Flatten, using hands to press from the inside out until dough is very thin. Lightly spray top of dough with oil and sprinkle with salt. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife cut dough into one inch squares. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes. Crackers will crisp as they stand.

Read up. Eat up. Enjoy!

- Joshua

Kickin' Three Bean Soup

You are going to love this soup! It is so cheap to make, and so very good for you. High in protein and vitamins! Also, if you are like me and enjoy spicy foods this recipe is great! If you prefer to keep your food on the spice free side, leave out the hot sauce and cut the Ground Red Pepper measurement in half!

Be sure to check out the Crisp Garlic Cracker recipe for an amazing topper to this soup!

Ingredients:

1 Can Garbanzo Beans

1 Can Black Beans

1 Can Kidney Beans

1 Small Yellow Onion Chopped

3 TBSP Olive Oil

1 TBSP Ground Red Pepper

1 TBSP Garlic Powder

1 TBSP Parsley Flakes

2 Cups Tomato Juice

1 Cup Hot Sauce

6 Cups Water

In a large pot combine chopped onion and olive oil. Toss so that the onion is completely covered in the oil. Cook on medium heat until onion has cooked down and is browning.

Empty canned Garbanzo, Black and Kidney beans into a strainer and rinse.*

Combine water, beans, ground red pepper, garlic powder, parsley flakes, tomato juice, and hot sauce into the onions. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve topped with crackers.

Read up. Eat up. Enjoy!

- Joshua

*One rule to always follow when working with canned beans. Rinse them! It cuts out half of the sodium, and in most cases eliminates the gas causing ingredients!

Hello readers and eaters!

I am the guy (Joshua) that is supposed to be helping Holly with this food blog. And I have been so busy working that I have not yet had a chance to post anything. So I am going to post a few different things all at once!

I am currently on a very minimal meat eating diet. Most of the food I am going to post right now is going to be meet free. But, you can add meat to any of it. Also, I rarely eat fried foods or deserts. Yeah I know... I am the boring eater of the two! But I promise you! This food will not be missing taste!

Read up. Eat Up. Enjoy!

- Joshua

Nutella Wontons

OK, so who doesn't need a sweet indulgence every once in awhile? And who wouldn't love something that taste like a light chocolate chip cookie? Maybe chocolate haters, but I'm not one of those and hopefully you aren't either because these are just heaven! I've just discovered how amazing Nutella taste. For those of you who haven't had the pleasant experience of tasting it, Nutella is a hazelnut spread that taste just like chocolate. Most grocery stores have all the ingredients you will need to make this little treat, but you may need to go to a place that carries Organic items to find the wonton wrappers for you small town peoples. I usually had a hard time finding certain items when I lived in Arkansas. OK, so here it is - Nutella Wontons. The best thing about this recipe? You can make as many or as little as you want. Super easy and super fast to make.

Ingredients:

Wonton Wrappers

Nutella

Small Glass Water

Canola Oil

Powdered Sugar

Make It:

1. Take Wonton Wrapper, place on plate;

2. Place small spoonful of Nutella in center of Wonton Wrapper;

3. With you finger dab into water and wet 2 edges of Wonton Wrapper;

4. Fold Wonton Wrapper over (into triangle shape); the water side will seal the edges together;

5. Place Nutella Wontons in preheated hot skillet of 1 inch Canola Oil; cook 1-2 mins. each side over medium heat or until golden brown;

6. Drain on paper towels;

7. Sprinkle with powdered sugar; serve while hot

*I've been thinking about what else might be good in these wrappers because it's just so simple and easy to make, either as a dessert or an appetizer. Maybe Nutella and Strawberry Jam? Or Peaches? You can always do crab rangoons?...Which I would do crab meat, drained, chopped and combine with cream cheese, steak sauce, and garlic powder; place 1 tsp. in wrapper, egg yolk edges to seal and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Yes, I know how to make those :D Now go buy some Wonton Wrappers and get creative!

~Made by: Holly