Vegweb's "They Won't Know It's Vegan Lasagna"

Vegweb's "They Won't Know It's Vegan Lasagna" is fantastic! This was my first time ever making a lasagna (Pathetic I know) and my first time making tofu ricotta, so many firsts tonight!

Changes and suggestions:

- I used an entire package of Tofurkey Italian Sausages (4 links) instead of the "Ground meat" substitute because it was what I had on hand. I sliced the "Sausages" into thin rounds and browned them a bit in some oil beforehand.
- For veggies I used carrots, broccoli florets, button mushrooms, and 1 bunch of fresh spinach (Stems removed). I cut all these veggies into smallish pieces (Except the spinach) and cooked them until tender. The spinach I didn't cook, I just layered it on fresh.
- I only needed like 2 cups of pasta sauce as well... Nowhere close to 2 jars! I did need the 3 cans of tomato sauce though.
- I didn't add the fake cheeze on top because fake cheeze is typically pretty gross.
- I thought the tofu ricotta in this recipe was fantastic without the vegan cream cheese added, once I added the vegan cream cheese the mixture became hard to spread so I just had it in 1 layer, it was still totally tasty though!

VegWeb's Butternut Tofu Stuffed Shells

This recipe off VegWeb for Butternut Tofu Stuffed Shells is awesome! My first time eating butternut squash too! Being vegan is awesome because it forces you to get out of your comfort zone and try new things to widen your options!

The things I changed were:

- Adding 2 cups of kale to the tofu and butternut squash mixture... Not really recommended though, since the filling was really bitter at first (Probably due to an old batch of kale) though I couldn't taste the bitterness in the leftovers.
- Doubled the garlic and onion powders as well.
- I had enough filling to easily use an entire box of shells, double what the recipe recommends!

I will be making this again for sure!

Garlicky Noodles

Ingredients:

1/2 a package of Fettuccine Noodles, cooked al dente (About 8 oz worth)
10 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 to 2 teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper
2 cups Seitan, cut into small cubes or strips
1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 a White Onion, sliced
4 cups Green Cabbage (Napa Cabbage would be awesome as well), thinly sliced
3/4 Cup Vegetarian Stirfry Sauce + 1/4 cup water, mixed
Oil for frying

Directions:

- Cook pasta and prepare veggies, set aside.
- Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a large hot pan or wok. Add garlic, crushed red pepper, and seitan. Cook a few minutes until seitan is a bit golden.
- Add asparagus and onions and cook until onions begin to turn translucent. Add more oil if needed.
- Add cabbage, cooked fettuccine noodles, and the vegetarian stirfry sauce + water mixture.
- Continue to cook until the liquid from the vegetarian soy sauce + water mixture looks mostly absorbed.

VegWeb's Melty Cheese

My favorite cheeze sauce so far has been Melty Cheese. I love it on nachos and also I use it to make macaroni and cheeze.

Tips:

- If you find you need a bit more of a cheezy flavor, add more nutritional yeast flakes, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- When your cooking the cheeze sauce, whisk constantly, don't let it burn or your sauce will taste nasty.

***For my nachos, I topped my mound of tortilla chips with refried black beans, pickled jalapenos, tomatoes, green onions, black olives, Tofutti sour cream, homemade guacamole (mashed avocado+sea salt+lime juice), and melty cheese***

Easy Peasy Pasta Bake

So I kinda just threw this together and thought it turned out pretty good... My BF really liked it and said I should post it! Quick comfort food... Though next time I would add more veggies... Maybe even an entire extra bunch of asparagus or some broccoli. I will list exactly what I used this time, feel free to add more veggies if desired. Serve with salad for a perfect vegan meal.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 bunch of asparagus, tough ends snapped off, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 white onion, sliced
- Garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste
- Cooking spray
- 12 oz box medium pasta shells
- 10.75 oz can condensed tomato soup + 10.75 oz can worth of water
- 1/2 to 1 cup fried onions
- Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

- Prepare asparagus and onions.
- Preheat oven to 400 F and get a big pot of water boiling for the pasta.
- Once pasta water is boiling add pasta and cook until al dente, then drain in a colander (Save the pot).
-Meanwhile, put the asparagus and onions in a large rectangular caserole dish and season generously with garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and crushed red pepper. Spray your seasoned veggies with cooking spray and mix the veggies around until everything is evenly coated. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until asparagus is tender crisp (Save the casserole dish).
- Turn stove down to 350 F.
- Thoroughly mix condensed soup and water in the pot, add cooked pasta and mix until pasta is evenly coated. Add this mixture to the asparagus and onion mixture in the casserole dish and mix thoroughly. Once mixed, cover with fried onions (You can mix the mixture around again if you wish or leave the onions as a topping).
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tomato soup has thickened a bit.
- Generously season casserole servings with creole.

Makes: 8 Servings
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes