Grilled Veggie Lasagna

This recipe was created using the produce I had on-hand.  I had 2 small eggplants and 3 small zucchini.  I grilled the veggies and then cut them up and used them as the “meat” in this veggie lasagna.  The end result is a smoky tasting lasagna.  Enjoy!

Grilled Veggie Lasagna

Ingredients

¨            3 small zucchini

¨            2 small eggplants

¨            1 ½ jars of your favorite tomato sauce

¨            1 package of lasagna noodles

¨            2 containers of ricotta cheese

¨            1 teaspoon dried basil

¨            1 egg

¨            Salt and pepper to taste

¨            1 bag of mozzarella cheese

¨            ¼ cup of parmesan cheese

 

Directions

1.    Peel eggplant, cut into large circles about ½ inch thick.  Salt and let sit for 30 minutes to get rid of bitter juices.  Rinse to remove salt and pat dry with paper towel, coat with olive oil.

2.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3.   In large bowl combine the ricotta cheese, salt and pepper, basil parmesan cheese and egg, set aside.

4.   Cut zucchini into long strips about ½ inch thick, coat with olive oil

5.   Cook zucchini and eggplant on grill over medium heat until soft.  About 7 minutes on each side.

6.   Allow veggies to cool slightly and cut into small pieces.  Add to ricotta cheese mixture.

7.   In 9X13 baking dish, put down a layer of lasagna noodles.  Cover with tomato sauce; add 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture.  Continue to layer until you run of out ingredients.  Your final layer should be cheese.

8.   Cook for 1 hour in oven.

9.   Allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Overall

This lasagna was delicious!  The smoky flavors from the grill gave it a great flavor.  I will be making this again.

Frugality

The zucchini was $.77, the eggplants were $1 each from Sprouts.  The ricotta was $5 for both containers and the mozzarella was $2 from Fresh and Easy.  The lasagna noodles were $2 and the pasta sauce was $2.  The total for a big pan of delicious lasagna is $13.77. 

Look Forward To

I have some brussel sprouts and some green beans to use.

vegetarian chili

My first recipe is adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/vegetarian-chili/detail.aspx.  I love to use allrecipes.com because there are so many reviews on each recipe that make great suggestions to make the dish even better.  All the reviews for this recipe were positive and it has a 4 1/2 star rating.  Here's my new, improved version:

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) package frozen burger-style crumbles (I used Boca brand)
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (15 ounce) cans dark red kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans, drained
• 1 can of sweet corn (drained)
• 2 yellow or red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 sweet onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 

Directions 

• In a large pot heat extra virgin olive oil over medium heat, add onion and bell peppers.  Cook about 10 minutes stirring often.
•  In a large pot, combine black beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
• Bring to a simmer and cover. Let the chili simmer for at least 1 hour before serving.   The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.  15 minutes before serving, add ground crumbles (if you add them sooner, they get too chewy).
• Serve alone or with shredded cheese and crackers.

Overall
This was my first time cooking with the Boca veggie crumbles so I was a little apprehensive.  I thought it was a good chili that's even better the next day.  When I make it again, I will maybe throw in some sliced Italian zucchini for more veggie goodness.  I forgot to add the salt and pepper and when added, it tasted much better.  

Frugality
I went on a shopping trip to Fry's prior to cooking this meal.  The Boca crumbles were on sale for $2.99, the cans of beans and corn were all Kroger brand and cost about $0.70 (6 cans), the onions were about $1.50 (though you could go cheaper and get yellow onions and it would taste pretty good still), the diced tomato and tomato sauce was about $3 and the spices and olive oil I had on hand.  The grand total for this big pot of chili is less than $12.  Delicious!  

Look Forward To.... 
September is National Honey Month and a friend of mine is hosting a "Honey" party.  Each of the guests are bringing a honey infused recipe...not sure what mine will be yet.  (As of now I'm leaning toward a lemon honey cookie recipe I found.)

I just pre-ordered my produce basket from http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/.  Its a food coop that brings me a great variety  of delicious local produce from around my area for $15 a basket.  I'm excited to see what I get this week and try out some new recipes.