Party in My Tummy: Vegan Mexican Lasagna

Yesterday there was a party in my tummy.

And more than just this delicious little clementine!

I had a cheeseless quesadilla for lunch.

Without the cheese it was a little slidier (technical term right there folks), but still extremely delicious.  Just hummus, smashed avocado, and spinach between two Flat-Outs, browning both sides in a pan with a little olive oil spray.

And dinner last night… ohhhhhh man!   I made a vegan Mexican lasagna that was to die for.

I cubed some tempeh and ran it through my food processor until it was ground beefy in texture.

I sauteed it in a little olive oil until brown, added a rinsed can of black beans, and spiced it all up with cayenne, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, smoked paprika, and a touch of salt.  I was a little heavy handed with the red pepper flakes, so to balance out the spicy I made a very mild sauce consisting of two cans tomato paste, 3/4 cup veggie broth, 2 1/4 cups water, and a little cumin and smoked paprika, thickened with a little cornstarch.

I used the same whole wheat noodles as last time.

In a casserole dish I layered sauce, noodles, the tempeh/bean mixture, Daiya cheddar cheese, more sauce, more noodles, spinach, Daiya cheddar, more sauce, more noodles, more sauce, and topped it with the rest of the Daiya.

Oven lovin’ (covered with foil) at 375° for 30 minutes.

It was seriously phenomenal.  Even the boyfriend and the bestieroomie liked it!  I really wish I would have had some black olives and green onions to add, which I will definitely incorporate the next time I make this… and there will definitely be a next time!

I had class all day today and then ran around town looking for kale and finally found some nice bunches at Whole Foods.  I foresee more kale chips in the very near future. How was your Saturday?

❤ C