This is a lower calorie version of my favorite lasagna. It works out to only 184 calories per piece! This is done in the oven rather than the crock pot.
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
2/3 package Trader Joe's marinated and grilled eggplant and zucchini OR 1 eggplant and 2 zucchini, sliced thin and grilled with olive oil
6 no boil lasagna noodles
1 3/4 cups marinara sauce
3.5oz mozzarella cheese, shredded\
to taste - salt, garlic powder, onion powder
Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare a 9" square pan.
Filling: mix spinach and ricotta cheese and season with salt, garlic powder and onion powder.
Assembly: layer 1/4 cup sauce, 1/2 the grilled vegetables, 1/2 cup sauce, 3 noodles, the spinach filling, remaining vegetables, 1/2 cup sauce, remaining 3 noodles, 1/2 cup sauce and the cheese.
Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to sit about 10 minutes to set up a little. Cut into 9 3" squares.
Review: This was fabulous! The best lasagna ever. We all loved it.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Spanish lentils
I call this Spanish lentils because it is similar to my old favorite, spanish rice, but swapping the lentils for rice makes it healthier.
2 cups dry brown lentils
3oz soyrizo (vegetarian chorizo)
28oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
to taste - salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, turmeric, coriander, basil, thyme
Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours.
Serve with brown rice and sour cream or low fat yogurt.
Review: This was really good. I think next time I'll use a smaller amount of lentils and add some bell pepper instead. Some hot sauce would be nice.
2 cups dry brown lentils
3oz soyrizo (vegetarian chorizo)
28oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
to taste - salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, turmeric, coriander, basil, thyme
Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours.
Serve with brown rice and sour cream or low fat yogurt.
Review: This was really good. I think next time I'll use a smaller amount of lentils and add some bell pepper instead. Some hot sauce would be nice.
Lentil soup
I have just discovered lentils and I am experimenting with them. This was an unintentional soup - it was supposed to be thicker.
1 cup brown lentils
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
8 very small potatoes, diced
1/2 box vegetable broth
to taste - salt, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, coriander, basil
Combine all ingredients and cook on high 6 hours.
Serve with crusty bread for dipping.
Review: I added WAY too much salt to this and it ended up pretty much inedible. However I think without all that salt it would be great. The texture was perfect, rich and creamy but still nice and soupy. It was nice to have a change from my usual tomato based dishes.
1 cup brown lentils
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
8 very small potatoes, diced
1/2 box vegetable broth
to taste - salt, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, coriander, basil
Combine all ingredients and cook on high 6 hours.
Serve with crusty bread for dipping.
Review: I added WAY too much salt to this and it ended up pretty much inedible. However I think without all that salt it would be great. The texture was perfect, rich and creamy but still nice and soupy. It was nice to have a change from my usual tomato based dishes.
Frozen vegetables
Just a word about frozen vegetables - I love using them. I like to freeze my own for more variety. Whenever I have something left over, whether it's half an onion or a spare zucchini, I like to chop it up and add it to a bag in the freezer. That way when I need some vegetables for something I can just shake up the bag and get a really nice variety in my meal. It is a great way to save money because I can buy whatever is on sale and nothing goes to waste.
Mexican salsa rice
This was a result of not having much left in the fridge, so I dug around in the freezer looking for stuff to throw in the crock pot.
4 vegetarian breakfast sausage links
4 vegetarian buffalo chicken pieces, without sauce
1 1/2 cups mixed frozen vegetables (zucchini, carrots, potatoes)
1 bell pepper, sliced
24oz jar of mild salsa
1 cup dry brown rice
1 cup vegetable broth
Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours.
Serve with shredded cheddar cheese on top.
Review: This turned out really great. My husband says it is the best thing yet. I didn't add any additional spices because I felt the salsa had plenty of salt and flavor. The sausage and fake chicken added some great texture and flavor but I think it would have been fine without them.
4 vegetarian breakfast sausage links
4 vegetarian buffalo chicken pieces, without sauce
1 1/2 cups mixed frozen vegetables (zucchini, carrots, potatoes)
1 bell pepper, sliced
24oz jar of mild salsa
1 cup dry brown rice
1 cup vegetable broth
Combine all ingredients in crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours.
Serve with shredded cheddar cheese on top.
Review: This turned out really great. My husband says it is the best thing yet. I didn't add any additional spices because I felt the salsa had plenty of salt and flavor. The sausage and fake chicken added some great texture and flavor but I think it would have been fine without them.
Chili
This is my favorite simple vegetarian chili recipe, crock pot style.
1 package Morningstar Meal Starter crumbles
28oz can diced tomatoes
15oz can black beans, drained
1 package McCormick's chili seasoning
Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours.
Serve over brown rice.
Review: I usually cook this in a large frying pan on the stove top and I felt like in the crock pot it turned out more liquid. Also the crumbles were a bit softer and less chewy, for lack of a better word. My husband said he liked it better this way.
1 package Morningstar Meal Starter crumbles
28oz can diced tomatoes
15oz can black beans, drained
1 package McCormick's chili seasoning
Combine all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours.
Serve over brown rice.
Review: I usually cook this in a large frying pan on the stove top and I felt like in the crock pot it turned out more liquid. Also the crumbles were a bit softer and less chewy, for lack of a better word. My husband said he liked it better this way.
First post
Hi! I'm Morgen and I love to cook. My husband is a pescatarian (vegetarian who also eats fish) and while I do eat meat, I find myself mostly cooking vegetarian food for my family. I have recently discovered the joys of the crockpot and I am in love with it.
My two toddlers are a bit of a handful and often get extra crazy in the evening so getting dinner on the table is always a struggle. Now I just make it earlier instead! I like to put together the ingredients while I am making my lunch, then cook it on high for about six hours until dinnertime.
Right now I have just one crock pot, a cheap 1.5 quart one that I got for $10. I hope to get a larger one soon (along with a rice cooker) but for now this is perfect. It fits in our small kitchen and makes about 5 1 cup servings.
This blog will be a record of what I have made in my crock pot and how it turned out, as well as occasionally some non crock pot favorites.
My two toddlers are a bit of a handful and often get extra crazy in the evening so getting dinner on the table is always a struggle. Now I just make it earlier instead! I like to put together the ingredients while I am making my lunch, then cook it on high for about six hours until dinnertime.
Right now I have just one crock pot, a cheap 1.5 quart one that I got for $10. I hope to get a larger one soon (along with a rice cooker) but for now this is perfect. It fits in our small kitchen and makes about 5 1 cup servings.
This blog will be a record of what I have made in my crock pot and how it turned out, as well as occasionally some non crock pot favorites.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)