Monday, May 14, 2007

This Just In - Guest Author

My sister recently took some Veggie Crumble home for experimentation. She shared her success with us in the form of a recipe and pictures:


We are definitely meat eaters. My husband has to have protein - whatever kind it is. I happen to love everything that my brother cooks (with the exception of mistake soups - but thats for another day). So when he told us about the Veggie Crumble, we had to try it. To add into the mix, we keep a kosher house. Which, in a nutshell, means that we do not mix milk and meat. For example, a lasagna would be only cheese, no meat added. No Parmesan cheese on spaghetti and meatballs, no cheese on meat sandwiches, etc. So I was very excited to experiment with the Crumble. Not only was this the first time using the Veggie Crumble, but my first time making lasagna. Here's how it works:

Veggie Crumble Lasagna

Ingredients:
Veggie Crumble
Onion
Olive Oil - I like Exra Virgin
Salt/pepper
Garlic
Tomato Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese - 1 pack, I used part-skim
Ricotta Cheese - 1 container
Lasagna noodles - I used the no-boil ones, takes out 1 step
Fresh Basil (there is nothing better then fresh herbs)
Parmesan cheese

How to:

1. Chop up onion. In a pot, sauté with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. You add the salt here to release the juices from the onion - you want liquid for the crumble. Once the onions are translucent, add the crumble. I used cups. Next time I would use 2 or 3 cups, depending on how 'meaty' you like it. (remember, husband - meat eater). You can add about a teaspoon of water here, just to make some more liquid and hydrate the crumble. Once the crumble is fully mixed in with the onions, add tomato sauce, about 2 jars.

2. Build Lasagna. Don't worry here, you can't mess it up. I thought I could - but you can't! Start with a layer of the sauce. Then add the noodles. Then add the ricotta, then the mozzarella. If you love basil, you can put some full leaves in here. Then sauce, then noodle and repeat again. When you get to the top, cover with sauce and tons of mozzarella cheese. Then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese - extra yummy. Then you can call it '3 Cheese Crumble Lasagna'. Make sure it has enough sauce, I ran out of sauce, added a little water to the lasagna tray and pushed it down.


3. Bake in oven at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour. Don't be too caught up with numbers, measurements or times, just enjoy - It's delicious!!!

Serve with a great salad, yummy crusty bread and some good wine.



**Note from Jason: my parents, my brother-in-law, and my sister's in-laws all loved this lasagna. I am secretly hoping that my sister froze a piece for me (or at the very least will cook it the next time that she comes to visit.) More guest authors and recipes are coming along as well!


**Also, as soon as I get a chance, there are a lot of updates about the business - we've got some cool videos and stuff...

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