Dal Palak

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup lentils
10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 1 inch piece of ginger
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
3/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

Wash and soak lentils in warm water for 45 minutes. Defrost spinach. Heat pan and saute the chopped onion until soft. Strain lentils and add to pan, along with spinach and the remainder of the spices. Add water. Over medium heat let the lentils cook until soft. Lightly smash the lentils into the spinach mixture.

NOTES: First time doing a dish like this and it probably came out a bit dry, based on images I saw on the Internet of this dish. I would probably add more water next time and modify the spices used, possibly adding a bit of lemon juice as well. Overall the flavor was good, much like a curry but I feel I could have used a chile pepper or a hot sauce to spice the dish up.

Pasta Con Broccoli

INGREDIENTS:
16 oz – whole wheat Cavatelli noodles ( used medium shells)
2 cups – fat free pasta sauce (see Spaghetti recipe)
1 can black or white beans
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/4 tablespoon- crushed red chili peppers flakes
1/2 cup frozen spinach
2 cups frozen broccoli
Almond Parmesan

DIRECTIONS:
Put beans, spaghetti sauce, basil, brown sugar, and chili peppers in a blender or food processor and combined. Pour bean marinara into a sauce pot over Med-Low heat. Add spinach and broccoli. Heat for about 10 minutes until warm. Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add a pinch of sea salt and stir pasta. Boil 10-12 minutes or to desired tenderness. Drain pasta in colander, and mix in a large bowl with bean marinara.

To make Almond Parmesan, process 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and 1/3 cup whole raw almonds in a blender or food processor until crumbly. Store in refrigerator.

SOURCE: The Healthy Vegans & Fat Free Vegan

Eggplant Lasagna

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium or 2 small eggplants
9 lasagna noodles
1 block (14-16 oz) of tofu (I used extra firm)
2 cups spinach
1/4 cup minced garlic
3 cup spaghetti sauce (or your favorite sauce)
8 oz soy cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Boil the lasagna noodles until they are tender.
While the noodles are cooking, cut the eggplant into thin slices.
Place the eggplant slices on pan and broil until the pieces are tender.
While the eggplant is cooking, put the tofu and garlic in a food processor. The mixture should have the consistency of ricotta cheese.
Put a few tablespoons of spaghetti sauce in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish.
Place the three lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pan.
Spread a few more tablespoons of sauce on top of the noodles.
Spread some of the tofu mixture on top of the sauce.
Sprinkle some soy cheese on top of the tofu mixture (optional).
Layer some eggplant on top of the cheese.
Repeat steps until all of the eggplant has been used.
Place the remaining sauce, tofu mixture on top of the last layer of eggplant.
Bake at 350 degrees 15-20 minutes.
Cut the lasagna into 12 equal slices.

SOURCE: SparkRecipes.com

Veggie Pizza

INGREDIENTS:
1 bag of Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Gluten Free Pizza Crust
Tomato sauce (see spaghetti for sauce recipe)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cups spinach, chopped
1 zucchini, halved and sliced
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, sliced and halved
2 tomatoes
cheese (optional, I used non-dairy Daiya)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the over to 425 degrees. In a bowl prepare the pizza crust flour as directed. After the dough is done rising roll it out on a pizza pan. I used a cookie sheet, which made for a nice 1/2 thick crust when baked.

Cover pizza dough with tomato sauce and top with a thin layer of cheese. Add red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, onion, spinach and top with tomato. Bake in the over for 15-17 minutes.