I have a treat for you all today!! I was donated these beautiful, home-grown garden squashes from a co-worker (Shoutout to the Hebert Family!!). Of course, I immediately thought “squash lasagna!” Then I made it happen.
This is one of the few recipes I’ll post on here that is not vegan. I have covered before the difference between a Plant-Based Diet and a Vegan one. Basically, Vegans do not eat (or wear or use) any animal products. From experience I know that one can still eat unhealthily as a Vegan. For example, Oreos are Vegan. There’s Vegan substitutes for almost everything now, so eating Vegan doesn’t necessarily mean eating healthy. Eating Plant-Based is different. As the name suggests, it mostly involves eating plants. And whole grains, legumes, tubers, and other from-the-Earth items. Plant-Based eaters such as myself do occasionally eat dairy or meat. I choose not to eat meat or most dairy, but I do sometimes enjoy cheese! I also avoid wearing animal products (such as leather or fur) and I use products that are Cruelty-Free (which mean they do not use animal byproducts, nor do they test on animals). Lastly, I do not patronize places that utilize animals for entertainment, for example the circus. I could go on and on about my beliefs about animal welfare, but that is not why you are reading this blog.
Which brings us to our lasagna! This was super simple to make. I ended up with way more squash than I could fit in the lasagna, so I now have leftover squash to roast and eat with rice or whole grain orzo!
I looked for whole grain/whole wheat lasagna noodles. I was unable to find any. So, I bought regular ones. Cook the noodles as instructed on the package.
I steamed the squash for a short while after cutting it into discs just to make sure it baked thoroughly.
While the squash steamed and the noodles noodled, I mixed the ricotta cheese with the shredded mozzarella in a bowl.
In a Pyrex dish, layer the pasta sauce, lasagna noodles, squash discs, and cheese mix.
Mr. FBBQ had smoked some garlic heads to make smoked garlic powder (I’m sure there will be a Forensic BBQ post on that, so keep an eye out).
[ForensicBBQ comment: Spoiler alert! Look for it on 11 November, if not sooner!]
He so generously gave me many, many cloves of garlic. I distributed these atop the lasagna. The whole thing went into the oven to bake. This turned out so deliciously! I gave one of the pans to the Hebert family and got a nice note in return! Thank you!
