So I was hanging out on Twitter today and saw one of my Tweeps, amoyal, mention that today was #MeatlessMonday.  I had never heard of this particular Twitter tag,  but I got pretty excited since it’s so close to what I want to do with Vegan Weekend.  Anyway, never one to let a good Twitter tag go, I figured I couldn’t not start doing #MeatlessMonday posts.

(For the record, I’ve already been reminded Mondays are hard enough, so giving up meat is just cruel.  I, however reminded my friend I wasn’t asking him to give up caffeine! ;))

So, the long and short of it is that you can be 100% sure that every post I write on Monday will be completely meatless.

Like today’s recipe for:

Lasagna Made With Italian Sausage Match Meat

Using delicious Match Meat flavored Italian Sausage, Mrs. WellDone, BWD, Jr., and I made our own lasagnas this evening.  Me, I like lots of sauce, garlic, and mushrooms.  Mrs. WellDone likes lots of cheee.  BWD, Jr. likes noodles and that’s about it.  So we all made our own.  And to get some protein and the flavor of meat, we used Match Meat Italian Sausage.

The Italian Sausage Match Meat was perfect.  It was spicy like Italian sausage should be and it crumbled like Italian sausage, so the texture was ideal, but at the same time, there was a ton less grease, making it healthier, too.  I know that to a lot of people going without meat may seem like a huge deal, but no one missed!

Make Your Own Meatless Monday Match Meat Lasagna

Really, lasagna is a personal thing.  Everyone likes it prepared differently, but the good news is that as long as you have enough lasagna pans and enough freezer bags or tupperware, everyone can have it how they want.  Here’s how I made mine:

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 healthy pinch red pepper flake
• 1 large white onion, minced
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 3 12.5 oz cans of tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 4 tablespoons garlic powder, divided
• 1 box lasagna noodles
• 1/4 cup ricotta
• 1/2 cup mozzarella
• 8 mushrooms, sliced
• 8 whole stewed tomatoes (San Marziano plum tomoates if possible)

Get the ricotta into a bowl so that it can come to room temperature.  Preheat your oven to 350.

Put the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and wait for the oil to get warm.  Then add the garlic and red pepper flake.  Cook about 15 seconds and then add the onions, a good pinch of salt, and black pepper.  Cook until the onions are translucent, then add the tomato sauce and basil.  Continue cooking, stirring occassionaly until the sauce starts to bubble.

After you have added the sauce, pour enough water into a pot to cover the noodles.  Bring the water to a boil, then add 2 tablespoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of garlic.  Boil the noodles according to their package instructions.

(Side Note: A lot of people cook their noodles before the tomato sauce is added to the skillet.  Don’t be like them!  You do not want the noodles hanging around waiting on the sauce, you want the opposite.  If the noodles sit, they either get soggy or get sticky and neither makes for great lasagna.)

Once the noodles are ready, assemble the lasagna thusly:

1. A tiny layer of sauce to keep the noodles from sticking
2. A layer of four noodles (it’s okay if they overlap, really)
3. Ricotta, noodles, the rest of the garlic powder, 1/4 of the mozzarella, and the mushrooms
4. Another layer of four noodles
5. More sauce and the rest of the cheese (Save some sauce if possible)
6. Mash the plum tomatoes and place on top

Bake your lasagna until the cheese starts to melt, turns slightly brown, and gets bubbly.

Portion out on to plates and then top with some extra sauce and a little Parmesan cheese. 

Get a fork and Enjoy!!