Whole Wheat Lasagna with Italian "Sausage" and Peppers

       

 Whole Wheat Lasagna with Italian "Sausage" and Peppers 

I got this recipe from Alicia Silverstones vegan website. I made this lasagna the other night for my husband and myself for dinner. My husband is not vegan but really liked it. It was really good I am happy to say. It gave us hot and healthy leftovers for about a week. Try to use whole wheat or brown rice lasagna noodles this will add to your fiber and whole grains. Let me know if you try it.

                                     
      Prep time: 45 minutes 
     Cook time: 30 minutes

     Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

     Servings: 6

• 1 box of whole wheat or brown rice lasagna noodles
• 1 (16-ounce) box of frozen spinach, thawed, squeeze excess water out
• 2 (26-ounce) jars of vegan marinara (Morgan used a basil marinara)
• 4 vegan Italian "sausages" cut into cubes
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped
• 2 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1 handful vegan shredded cheese (enough to sprinkle on top only)
• 1 pound(s) of extra firm tofu
• 1 Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. of nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp. of tsp sea salt
• 1 pinch of black pepper to taste
• 4 tbsp. of chopped sun dried tomatoes
• 1 cup(s) of (a few huge handfuls) chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp. of dried oregano

Steps

1. Press water out of tofu by wrapping in a clean towel, and placing a pot or pan on top for about 10-20 minutes
2. Crumble the tofu in a bowl, and add lemon juice, garlic, nutritional yeast, sea salt, black pepper, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, and dried oregano
3. Using a potato masher, smash up the tofu really well until it resembles ricotta cheese in texture
4. Set aside until ready to use
5. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water with 2 T olive oil to a boil, and cook noodles according to package (the oil will prevent the noodles from sticking together)
6. Cook them for a few minutes less than suggested, so that they can finish cooking in the oven
7. When noodles are done cooking, drain and rinse in cold water
8. While the noodles are cooking, heat 2 T olive oil in a saute pan, and saute sausage a few minutes
9. Use a potato masher to help crumble the sausage into slightly smaller pieces
10. Add 2 jars of marinara sauce and 2 chopped green peppers to the pan, and let simmer about 10 minutes
11. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
12. In a rectangular pyrex glass dish, start layering your lasagna
13. Start by adding a little sauce on the bottom, then 4 noodles, then sauce, spinach, tofu ricotta, 4 noodles, sauce, spinach, ricotta,4 noodles, and then end with sauce and cover the top with shredded vegan cheese (you should have 3 layers of noodles) Cover top of dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes
14. Uncover and cook an additional 10 minutes until cheese melts a little on top
15. Let cool 5 minutes