How to Make Your Own Vegetarian Lasagna

 

Lasagna is a common dish loved by many, and it doesn’t need meat in order to taste great. Enjoy this filling and healthy meal all by itself, or pair it with a nice salad for an extra green touch. Those who normally eat their lasagna with beef won’t miss the meat with this great recipe. It’s the perfect meal for vegetarians and meat lovers alike. Serve it at your next dinner party or potluck for an instant hit. Or can make it for yourself so you won’t have to share it with anyone.

What You’ll Need

• 1 package of lasagna noodles
• one 24-ounce jar of tomato pasta sauce, or other sauce of your choice
• 3 eggs well beaten
• one 8-ounce package of sliced mushrooms
• 2 medium zucchinis, sliced
• fresh spinach, washed and cut
• 12 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8 ounces of grated Parmesan cheese
• olive oil spray, or any other spray of your choice

Mix the beaten eggs and cottage cheese in a bowl. In another bowl or on a plate, combine the mozzarella and cottage cheese. Lastly, in a separate bowl, mix together the pasta sauce, sliced zucchini, sliced mushrooms and spinach.

Spray oil onto a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Cook the lasagna until soft. Rinse the lasagna under cold water to rinse off the starch, and line it in the bottom of the pan.

Spoon the pasta sauce mixed with the zucchini, mushrooms and spinach over the noodles to form a thin cover. Add the cottage cheese and egg mixture over the pasta sauce with a large spoon.

Add another layer of noodles, and repeat all steps until all the ingredients have been added. Make sure the cheese mixture is on top.

Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes. The cheese should look bubbled and the top should be toasty but not burnt.

You can serve your vegetarian lasagna straight from the oven, as it doesn’t need time to cool. Lasagna also makes excellent leftovers, so you can cook this up just for yourself and enjoy the flavor all week.

Please LIKE and FOLLOW for future posts about everything yummy from around the world.

Not Just Another Ordinary Grain: Polenta

Many homeowners think that their kitchen has it all. However, what they are not aware of is that there is a wide variety of delicious foods available that they might not have even heard of. Polenta is one of these delicious dishes. It is a whole grain cornmeal that is packed with numerous different types of nutrients and vitamins.

What Is It?

Polenta can be understood simply as cooked cornmeal. While it was once a solution to affordable food, it has quickly risen up the culinary chain. It is now on its way to gourmet menus and cookbooks, and has captured the attention of numerous chefs. Preparing polenta on your own can be very simply and delicious. In order to make it, all that you have to do is grind the dried corn in water or broth in order to create a warm and creamy mixture. It has a nutty flavor, combined with classic corn, and it can be mixed with a wide variety of other foods as well. You can add just about anything to it to add some delicious flair.

Creating The Best Polenta

Cornmeal is typically available in a wide variety of different types and textures. In order to get the best results, however, it is recommended for you to choose cornmeal that is white or yellow, as blue cornmeal is usually much coarser. Cooking the polenta can be very easy. A ratio of cooking a standard batch is usually one cup of cornmeal for every four cups of liquid. This can be changed once you get more used to cooking the food, and know what type of consistency you want. One cup of the cornmeal will typically produce three cups of polenta. A cup of polenta by itself has only one hundred and fifty calories, three grams of protein, three grams of fiber, one gram of fat, and no cholesterol at all.

This delicious dish can be introduced as a side piece to a main meal, or prepared as a snack, and it even can be created into a breakfast creation! With how simple it is to make, it is not surprising that more and more people are beginning to add polenta to their cooking repertoire.

There Are So many Different Ways To Prepare Polenta, The Possibilities Are Endless:

Polenta Burgers

Grilled Sausage And Sliced Polenta

Fish Soup With Grilled Polenta

Polenta With Grilled Mushrooms And Onions

Baked Polenta With Sun Dried Tomatoes, Cheese, and Herbs

Polenta With Stew

Grilled Polenta And Balsamic Portobello Mushrooms

Polenta With Bolognese Sauce

Polenta Pizza

Fried Polenta Pancakes

Need Info On Vitamins And Minerals? Read This

Many people are aware about the importance of taking vitamins and minerals each day, but for some reason they avoid doing so. Maybe it is because they are confused about the subject or they just don’t know where to start. Either way, the article below is here to make sense of it all, so keep reading.

Never ignore the product warnings on vitamin levels. Vitamin and supplements can have serious side effects when taken with prescription and over the counter medicines. Ginseng can be very dangerous if you have high blood pressure or take heart medications. Lycopene can be deadly if you have a tomato allergy. Always read the warning labels or ask your pharmacist or doctor before taking any vitamins or supplements.

Do not use tea or coffee to wash down your vitamins and minerals. These beverages may inhibit the absorption of certain minerals. Tea has been proven to decrease the amount of iron the body absorbs. While coffee has not been shown to have the same effects, it would be best not to take any chances.

You can find riboflavin and vitamin B2 in green beans, asparagus, bananas, green beans, and dairy products. Vitamin B2 deficiency can lead to a variety of conditions, including cracked lips, scaly skin, and a reduction in red blood cells. This nutrient has been proven as helpful with cancer prevention, anemia, cataracts and carpal tunnel syndrome.

You don’t have to be confused about which vitamins and minerals to take when you have good tips like the ones in the above article. It is important that you lead a healthy lifestyle, and now that you know what it takes to do so, get the vitamins and minerals that your body craves to keep you living much longer. Remember these tips as you figure out what to take.

Simple Advice For Brewing Better Coffee Every Day

Everyone loves a freshly brewed cup of coffee at your local coffee shop, but do you ever wonder why your own homemade coffee doesn’t taste quite as good. Well this is a problem that many people face but if you read on, you can learn how to make cafe style coffee right in the comfort of your own home.

Don’t grind your coffee beans until just before making a fresh pot of coffee. The coffee begins to lose flavor immediately upon grinding. Don’t grind your beans before you brew if you want to drink good coffee.

The best way to get iced coffee in a hurry is to make it ahead of time via cold brewing. This involves brewing with just grounds, water, a fine filter, and if you like, some milk. You can easily do this before bed. By the next morning, you’ll have refreshing iced coffee that is ready to drink.

If your coffee maker is aged or an economy model, brew hot water before you brew the actual coffee to get the most flavor. After you have run a full pot of water through the machine, add your coffee grounds and pour the heated water back into your coffee maker. This makes the hottest and tastiest coffee you can get.

Do you enjoy strong coffee? You should try using a French press instead of a drip machine. Pressing the coffee means more oil will end up in your beverage instead of being retained by the filter of your coffee machine. You will find that pressed coffee has more flavor and contains more caffeine.

As was mentioned earlier in the article, making your own coffee doesn’t always turn out as well as it does when you order from a coffee shop. However, if you implement the tips and tricks given in this article, you are well on your way to creating wonderful tasting coffee time and time again.

Learn How To Love Wine Again (and Again And Again!)

Wine aisles can seem intimidating, because of the sheer variety. Which is the best choice? How do you serve them all? The tips in this guide can help you to navigate through the confusion and come out with a bottle that is a real winner.

Never cook with a wine that you do not enjoy the flavor of. When wine cooks down during the cooking process, it concentrates. Any flavors that you do not like will be more prevalent, which means you will not like the taste of the food you have worked so hard to prepare.

Keep in mind that an expensive wine is not necessarily good. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to wine and you should not force yourself to drink expensive wines to appear sophisticated. There are plenty of delicious wines you can find at an affordable price. Try different varieties until you find something you really enjoy instead of judging wines in function of their prices.

You should write down a few notes after trying a new wine. Make sure you write down the name of the wine, its origin and the year as well as your impressions. It will be hard to remember what a wine tasted like, especially if you attend wine tastings and try many different wines in the same day.

If you plan to purchase some wine, try a bottle of it out first. There are plenty of brands of wine out there, so you may not like one as much as you thought. It is wise to purchase just one bottle before you decide to buy a whole case.

As previously stated, it can be intimidating to pick a wine from all of the various wines out there. Hopefully, you are feeling far more confident about selecting and enjoying fine wines. Use the advice in this piece and gain new confidence when wine shopping.

Want To Know What Foods Go Well With Wine? Look At The Tips Below!

Don’t make any poor decisions when it comes to choosing or storing your wine. One poor choice can entirely hinder the taste of your hard acquired bottle. The best way to learn how to serve, taste, choose and store wine is to learn some great insider tips. The following article is equipped with all you need to know about wine.

Make a habit of trying new wines as often as you can. You will have the best chances of finding a wine that suits your tastes if you take the time to experiment with them. Everyone has different tastes, so just because a wine is said to be excellent does not mean that you will enjoy it, so get out there and try them.

Wine has many beneficial properties for your health. Enjoy a small glass of wine each night to enjoy the benefits. Most doctors recommend opting for a red wine to get the most benefits. When pouring your wine after dinner, allow the wine time to breathe before enjoying your glass of wine.

Select the right glasses when tasting wine or serving it. It is best to use a clear glass so you can look at the color of the wine. Choose a glass with a long stem and a round shape so you can easily swirl the wine. You should avoid using glasses that can contain more than twenty two ounces.

If you plan to learn about and collect wines, invest in proper storage. Wine is best when kept in a cooler, more humid environment. Many people prefer to build out a basement or cellar for storing wine. However, if your needs are smaller, there are many options for in-home storage on the market.

A good tip if you’re interested in learning more about wine is to go to as many wine tastings as you can. Wine tastings are great because they allow you to try out all kinds of wine which will help you figure out what you like and what you don’t like.

Inexpensive wine can be quite tasty, contrary to popular belief. Chile produces great wine. Most Chilean wines can be bought at a decent price point. More specifically, look at Cabernet Sauvignons and Sauvignon Blancs. Other regions offering bargains are New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.

Do not write a certain wine off just because a wine tester does not like it. Just like with many other beverages, certain wines require an acquired taste. Even if he or she does not like it, you may find it to be to your liking. See if you can get a sample of it before buying a bottle.

You can easily make a mulled wine with only a few ingredients. You will need a bottle of red wine such as Merlot, Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon, a peeled and sliced orange, a quality brandy, honey or sugar and a few spices including whole cloves, cinnamon and ginger. Combine your ingredients into a slow cooker. Then, heat for 30 minutes and enjoy!

You may feel a bit overwhelmed by all of the things you didn’t know about wine. However, by choosing to take mental notes and applying all you’ve just read, you are setting yourself up for success. Remember, even the bartenders and wine tasting connoisseurs have needed help in the beginning!

How To Cook Like A Great Chef

Cooking is something anyone can do. You can shop for ingredients, and follow a recipe’s instructions, right? Do you have any cooking equipment? If so, you should have the ability to cook. If you’d like to expand your skills in the kitchen, read the helpful tips below that will show you how you can make easy, delicious dishes for your loved ones.

Preparation is one of the most important things that you will have to do before you cook a meal for your friends or family. Look at your recipe, and ensure that you aren’t missing any ingredients. Prepare everything the day prior, including the correct utensils and other cooking tools. This will aid you in keeping calm and doing your best.

When preparing stir-fry meals, cut the meat on the bias and keep it thin. Some people find it difficult to cut the meat thin, but it is very important. When the meat is firm, not frozen, slice it across the grain at an angle of 45 degrees.

Always keep your spices away from light in a cool place. If the spices become too hot, or moist from humidity, it can shorten their shelf life. Too much light exposure also does this. Keeping your spices in darkened, cool areas will lend extra longevity and flavor. You can prepare tastier meals if you use fresher spices.

Have you had trouble trying to figure out exactly how long to grill your meats? Use an accurate digital meat thermometer to ensure the meat is thoroughly cooked. If the meat is thick, such as more than 1.5 inches, try closing the grill’s lid to cut down on grilling time.

Cooking can be a hobby, job, or skill! Remember to keep experimenting with new things, and looking for more tips from people who can cook. Apply these tips when you prepare your next meal.

Wondering What You Don’t Know About Wine? Read This Article!

A lot of people drink wine, but don’t know a lot about wine. Don’t let that be you. With just a little information, you can be a true wine connoisseur. The following tips are here for that purpose, and can help you know a bit more about the drink you enjoy.

Keep in mind that an expensive wine is not necessarily good. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to wine and you should not force yourself to drink expensive wines to appear sophisticated. There are plenty of delicious wines you can find at an affordable price. Try different varieties until you find something you really enjoy instead of judging wines in function of their prices.

Select the right glasses when tasting wine or serving it. It is best to use a clear glass so you can look at the color of the wine. Choose a glass with a long stem and a round shape so you can easily swirl the wine. You should avoid using glasses that can contain more than twenty two ounces.

A good tip if you’d like to buy some wine is to pick up an individual bottle of wine to test it out. Since there are many wines, it can be difficult to decide on one. Don’t break the bank on an entire case unless you’re sure you like it.

Keep a wine journal. Write down the names of wines that you taste and what you think of them. Over time, this will develop into a great resource for you. It is also nice to look back and see where you came from and what direction you are headed in when it comes to your wine preferences.

Take a trip out to a vineyard. If there is one located close to you, make it a day trip. If not, consider taking a short vacation to go out and explore. An adventure such as this may help you appreciate and love wine even more than you did before.

What you like when it comes to wine is what is most important. There are countless experts out there who state that one type of wine is better because of the area or winery it comes from, but everyone has a different palate. If you prefer a low cost white wine, then buy it. After all, the goal is to drink something you enjoy.

No one can be a conoisseur overnight, but now that you have these tips you are that much closer to being a wine pro. Just use the tips in your everyday life to help you think of wine in a new way. You will be sure to be rewarded; enjoy!

Advice For Those Interested In Learning About Wine

Wine is a drink that has been enjoyed for many years. People have come to love this grape beverage, and have even cooked with it. There is so much to know about wine that you may not know everything. This article will help you deepen your knowledge about wine; here is some great wine advice.

Build a relationship with the salesperson or owner of the wine store. Don’t be afraid of getting recommendations from them. While you may get some that aren’t fantastic, you can usually find some that are passionate about wine. They can also personally recommend certain kinds. Getting familiar with these people can also help them get to know your preferences.

Do not write a certain wine off just because a wine tester does not like it. Just like with many other beverages, certain wines require an acquired taste. Even if he or she does not like it, you may find it to be to your liking. See if you can get a sample of it before buying a bottle.

Don’t worry about trying to identify all the flavors in a wine that you are tasting. Some people have a natural affinity for this while others do not. Try to focus instead on how much alcohol is in the product, as well as what type of fruit may be included. Over time, you will probably be able to get a good feel for these elements.

Get to as many wine tastings as you possibly can. Taste as many different kinds of wine as you can, and you learn a lot in the process. Not only will you learn about the various kinds of wine, you also learn about wine in general and how to learn good wines from bad very quickly. Just remember that you need to spit!

People have always enjoyed wine. They are always looking for more ways to incorporate wine into their lives. Now that you know a bit more, you will be smarter about the kind of wine you buy and how you use it. Use the information here to help you have a better wine experience.

Smart Wine Ideas For Even The Most Novice Of Wine Aficionados

Although many occasions go better with wine, better wine doesn’t always go with any occasion. Learning which wine goes best with different dishes and how to complement a celebration takes time. The following article will teach you a few basic tips about selecting the right wine, serving it and more.

Make a habit of trying new wines as often as you can. You will have the best chances of finding a wine that suits your tastes if you take the time to experiment with them. Everyone has different tastes, so just because a wine is said to be excellent does not mean that you will enjoy it, so get out there and try them.

A lot of wines have foreign names. It is best to familiarize yourself with the pronunciation of these names before you talk with experts about your wine tasting experiences. A wine expert will quickly label you as a novice if you are not familiar with the correct pronunciation of certain names.

Avoid over chilling white wines. Many wine drinkers will buy a bottle of their favorite white and return home to pop it in the fridge. While chilling whites is important, too much cold will diminish flavors in the wine; sometimes the most important ones. Target a temperature around 60 degrees up to 68 degrees to achieve the prime flavor.

When storing wines, you should make sure they reach a temperature of 57 degrees. This is the best temperature to serve a wine, but you might want to chill your white wines or let your red wines warm a little by simply placing the bottle on the table half an hour before your meal.

When purchasing a wine for dinner tonight, make sure to ask in the store if the wine is ready to drink. Some wines need to age in order for their true flavor to come out. This might mean months or even years should go by before the bottle is enjoyed. By asking if the wine is ready to drink, you have a better chance of walking out with a bottle you will enjoy.

Most celebrations are cause for opening a great bottle of wine, but which one? Hopefully this article has taught you the difference between wines and which ones are more appropriate for different meals. Remember these tips next time you go to pick up a bottle or two and be sure to enjoy.