Soup and Sandwiches!

Saturday we had soup and sandwiches.We have so many tomatoes in our garden so I've been trying to come up with ways to use them. I decided to make some tomato soup. I found a recipe and then adapted it to what I had on hand, adding some lentils for protein. It was a success. I will make this again soon.

Tomato Lentil Soup

3 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes

2 cups hot water

1 tbs vegetable broth granules (I use Rapunzel brand)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Litehouse Freeze-Dried Italian Herb Blend

2/3 c lentils, sorted and rinsed

1 tsp cornstarch mixed in 1/4 c cold water

Put it all in a pot, bring to a boil and reduce to low heat. Cover and cook for about 1/2 hour, stir occasionally. Lentils should be soft.

We also had broiled veggie sandwiches. I love these. We used to have them with provolone cheese but I didn't even miss it. You just broil the mushrooms and green bell peppers and stick the rolls in there until they get toasty. Add some lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and Italian dressing. Messy and delicious!

Lasagna II

I made lasagna again. This stuff is insane! Different ingredients this time around. It turned out great! Now it's not as yummy as traditional lasagna. Cheese guys! Cheese is an amazing thing. But it will kill you if you eat too much. So it doesn't have that stringy, gooey thing going on that cheese brings to lasagna and other things, but it's still good. I'm not going to use any of that fake soy cheese stuff. First, it sounds gross. Maybe it's not, but it sounds nasty. And hello? Processed like crazy. That's not good folks. Now, I'm no stranger to processed food, but that's not what we were going for here. Although, I do use jarred pasta sauce and pre-made polenta (don't tell anyone.)

So here are some nice pics and then the recipe for my Vegan Polenta Lasagna.

Vegan Polenta Lasagna

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed

Litehouse freeze-dried Italian Herb Blend

garlic powder

2 small or 1 med. zucchini (cubed)

2 large handfuls of fresh spinach

1 large kale leaf

1 large tomato, peeled and chopped

1 24 ounce jar pasta sauce

1 18 ounce package organic polenta, sliced

1 medium sweet potato, boiled and mashed

1 large tomato, thinly sliced

1 small eggplant, peeled and sliced (I didn't peel it but I would next time, it's kind of tough)

2-3 tbs almond meal

1 tbs nutritional yeast

salt

First layer: rinse the garbanzo beans and mash them in a food processor, mix in about 1/2-1 tsp of freeze-dried Italian herbs, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 2-3 tbs water. Spread until smooth in a lightly sprayed (Pam) 9x13 glass casserole dish.

Second layer: mix the zucchini, spinach, kale and tomatoes together with a pinch or two of the freeze dried herbs, spread on top of the garbanzo beans. spread 1/3 to 1/2 of the jar of pasta sauce on top of the veggies.

Third layer: slice the polenta so it is about 1/4 inch thick or a little less. Place polenta slices on top of the sauce in a single, even layer (like in the picture). 

Fourth layer: cube the sweet potato into 1/2-1 inch cubes, boil for about thirty minutes in lightly salted water. Mash with a splash of soy milk (or whatever plain milk you want) and a sprinkle or two of garlic powder. Spread sweet potatoes on top of polenta.

Fifth layer: spread the rest of the pasta sauce (pour in a few tbs of water in the bottom and shake with lid on to get the bit at the bottom) on top of the sweet potatoes. Thinly slice a tomato and place slices on top of the sauce, sprinkle with a little more herbs.

Sixth layer: peel and slice an eggplant and place in rows on top of the tomatoes and sauce.

Mix together the almond meal, nutritional yeast, a couple of sprinkles of salt and 2-3 pinches of garlic powder. Sprinkle on top of the eggplant.

Baked, covered with foil @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes then uncover and bake about 15 more minutes, until hot and bubbly.

*Prep time was about 40 minutes with my 13 year old daughter helping.