Black Bean Lasagna

Tonight's recipe is courtesy of Trisha Yearwood.  It's one that I've had on my list to try for a while and I finally decided to do it this week.  It was surprisingly delicious!

BLACK BEAN CHEESE-LESS LASAGNA

Serves: 8

1 (14 oz) extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry

2 (15.5 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (28 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

1 (12 oz) tomato paste

1 c. water

1 small-medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 T. dried oregano

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 c. raw cashews

1/4 c. nutritional yeast

3 T. olive oil

2 T. finely chopped fresh basil

8 oz lasagna noodles

Place tofu between 4 paper towels (or between two folded up dish towels like I did because we're currently out of paper towels).  Place heavy skillet on top for 1 hour, pressing down on tofu.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375.  Into large sauce pot, stir black beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, onion, oregano, garlic powder, 2 t. salt, and 1/2 t. pepper.  Heat to boiling on med-high, stirring often.  Reduce heat to maintain simmer; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While sauce cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the lasagna noodles and cook to al dente, according to package directions.  Drain the noodles well.  (THIS IS IMPORTANT!  I decided to try to use no-cook lasagna noodles and they didn't get quite cooked enough.  They were a little chewy and still crunchy on the sides.  Oh well...live and learn...)

In food processor, pulse cashews until finely ground; transfer to large bowl, along with pressed tofu.  With hands, crumble tofu until texture resembles ricotta cheese.  Stir in yeast, olive oil, basil, 1/4 t. salt, and 1/8 t. pepper.

In 13x9 dish, spread 1 c. tomato sauce.  Layer with noodles, sauce, and tofu mixture; repeat layering twice.  Top with 1 c. sauce.  Spread sauce to completely cover noodles.  Bake, uncovered, 40 minutes or until noodles are tender.  Let stand a few minutes before serving.

End result:

It was REALLY good!  (Despite the still too chewy noodles that weren't quite done.)  Dad cleaned his plate!  (Still not sure if it was because he really liked it, or because he was just starving from being at church all day...it was probably the latter, but I'm choosing the believe the former!)

And Julia asked for seconds!  That's a successful dinner in my books.  My work here is done!

Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Bars

This week's dessert was another hit.  At least in my book.  One family member who tried them, didn't like them, but others did.  They were easy to make and had a bunch of good stuff in them.  How can you go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter??

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER NO-BAKE BARS

1 c. peanut butter (I use Sprout's natural pb because it doesn't have a lot of extra "yucky" stuff in it)
2/3 c. honey
1/2 c. coconut oil (I use Whole Food's 365 brand)
2 c. oats (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free)
1 1/4 c. chocolate chips (as you can see in the pic: ghirardelli is my choice, they don't use milk fat)
3/4 c. Craisins

Melt peanut butter, honey, and oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Remove from heat and add oats, chocolate, and cranberries.  Stir until chocolate melts.  Spread mixture into a 9x13 pan.  Refrigerate (or freeze) until hardened.  Store in fridge or freezer.

I cut the pan into 24 squares.  But you can obviously cut them however big you want them.  Beware, though, they are kind of rich, so you don't want them too big or you'll get sick of it before you're done with it!

Bean Tostadas

This week's dinner is another quick and easy favorite.  Tostadas!  Being a native of Arizona I have been born and raised on Mexican food.  I love it.  And when I go too long without it I crave it something fierce.  However, over the last year as I've been making lifestyle and diet changes, I've had to give up a lot of my favorites because they're loaded with meat, cheese, sour cream, and all that other "good stuff".  I've had to adapt recipes (some that came out great, and others I'm still working on), and adjust my expectations.

Tostadas, though, have been something that have stayed constant.  Yea!  All I needed to do was remove the cheese (easily removed and not really missed all that much once you add in a bunch more veggies and salsa for flavor), and sour cream (which I have substituted with a soy version that is actually surprisingly good!).

All the fixings for a easy and super yummy dinner!

I bake my corn tortillas in the oven so you're not getting all that extra, unnecessary fat, by frying them.  Lay the tortillas out on a cookie sheet in a single layer, bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, then flip over and bake for another 10 minutes, or until they get a little brown and crispy.  

They you can add whatever toppings you want.  At my house we usually stick to the basics: tomatoes, lettuce, cheese (for those on in my house who eat it), salsa, olives, and your choice of sour cream (either dairy or non-dairy).  When I'm feeling like something a little extra (and when avocados are on sale!) I'll make up a batch of my famous guacamole: avocados, tomato, minced onion, seasoned salt, and lemon juice.  So good!!  

Everyone gives these a thumbs up!

Flour-less Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I saw this recipe earlier this week on Facebook.  They looked good, so I gave them a try.

FLOUR-LESS PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1 1/4 c. canned garbanzo beans, rinsed, patted dry
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. + 2 T. natural peanut butter
1/4 c. honey
1 t. baking powder
1/2 c. vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in food processor (I use a Ninja).  Blend until very smooth - scrape down edges periodically to make sure everything is blended.  Add chocolate chips and stir.

With wet hands form into 1" balls.  Place on parchment paper lined baking tray.  Press down slightly as cookies will not rise or expand very much.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Refrigerate.

Everyone tried them and everyone gave a thumbs up.  Even Dad!

Easy Stir-Fry

Tonight I made one of my favorites: stir-fry!

It's super easy.  Just take whatever veggies you have, or are your favorites, and throw them into a pot with a little bit of olive oil.  Cover and let them simmer and steam for 15-20 minutes (until they're fork tender).  Then add your favorite stir-fry sauce (I use Kikkoman).  I also added in some cashews this time.  It was really good!

So good, in fact, that I had seconds.  

I went to Panda Express yesterday and got some fortune cookies, just for fun.  My fortune was: You need to work on broadening your horizons, day by day.