Keithon's Pick For Dinner

 In my house I never plan out our meals for the week. As OCD as I am you'd think I would but my taste for food change from the time I wake up til the time I get in the car to go home from work. So making a menu a week in advance is crazy talk. So on the drive home Keithon will ask what's for dinner and we go from there. One one drive home he said "mommy we haven't had lasagna in a while can you make that for dinner? I told him ok but it would have to be later in the week. That is the one dish vegan or not that cost a lot of money, has a ton of ingredients and has a lot of prep work. So I normally do that on the weekend when I can focus on the steps. But what Keithon wants Keithon gets so mama made lasagna. With a twist of course. In the past I would buy the family size pans of lasagna. I would fix Keithon's plate fix my dinner and put the rest in the microwave, to store. I would go back into the kitchen to clean up and just about the whole damn pan was gone. Keithon would sneak back in the kitchen and get more, a lot more.

 Since I was on to his little tricks of eating now when I make lasagna I use mini
loaf pans. I fixed that little sneak. He gets a loaf pan and the rest are frozen for future use. This is why my friends call me the vegan goddess. Since this is Keithon's dish I let him pick the filling. For this one he decided on mushrooms and spinach. (The kid eat spinach but not carrots. Go figure)

He also makes the ricotta. To do this he takes a block of extra firm tofu and breaks it up and adds salt and nooch, then places it in the fridge so the favors soak into the tofu while I make the sauce and boil the noodles. A few posts ago I veganized a lasagna from Wild Women In the Kitchen and saw that I could replace my canned pasta sauce using a can of crushed tomatoes, clove of garlic and olive oil. So much cheaper and a bit healthier. I haven't purchased a jar of tomato sauce since.

I have also gotten better with choosing which cheese works better for me. Most vegans thrive on Dayia but I am a Trader Joe's girl but sadly I can't just grab a bag of that all willie nillie so lately I have used Follow Your Heart. It melts better and I like the texture and the lack of oil Dayia leaves. Plus its just prettier. Yes my food has to be pretty or I don't want it.

After all of that was done. I layered it up and popped these little babies in the oven for about 30 minutes and dinner was done. I am now able to monitor Keithon's pasta intake as well as a have a few go tos in the freezer for when he has another lasagna attack and mama is on a tight budget that week.