Cheap Vegetarian Recipes

Try some lemon pasta! Delicious and very cheap. Just saute a chopped clove of garlic with a pinch of red pepper flakes in some olive oil for about 30 seconds (the garlic should smell fragrant and be light, light brown at best). Add 2 cups of water and 2 veggie bullion cubes as well as the juice and zest of two lemons. Simmer for 10-15 minutes then stir in a slurry of 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup of water. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens, then cut the heat off and toss with some pasta. Great with tofu (just get the extra firm and lay slices in the sauce once thickened) or those chik patties made from soybeans. Another great cheap meal is red beans and rice. I keep canned kidney beans and rice on hand all the time. I like to spice up the beans with lots of chili powder and hot sauce.

Vegan Green Lasagna Ingredients: 16 uncooked lasagna noodles (regular, spinach, whole-wheat, or wheat-free) about 2 pounds fresh spinach, chopped fine, OR 2 10 oz. bag chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and excess water squeezed out 1 recipe tofu ricotta (recipe below) 1 cup pesto, prepared OR homemade (recipe below) 4 large cloves garlic, minced ½ teaspoon salt ¾ cup (divided) soy parmesan OR homemade faux parmesan (recipe below) ? cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted 2.5 packages Vegan Gourmet mozzarella cheese, shredded, OR 2 recipes worth of homemade béchamel (recipe below) Instructions: Prepare tofu ricotta and, if using, homemade pesto, faux parmesan, and béchamel. Set aside. Boil your lasagna noodles until they are a little firmer than al dente. You MUST boil the noodles—there is not enough liquid in this recipe to leave them uncooked. Drain and lay flat on a counter, table or tray. While the noodles are boiling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9x13 inch casserole dish or lasagna pan. Mix the spinach, tofu ricotta, pesto, minced garlic, salt, ½ cup of the parmesan, and the walnuts in a large bowl. Reserve ¾ cup of the béchamel for the topping. Place 4 noodles in the bottom of the pan. Spoon ? of the filling onto the noodles, pressing and spreading carefully. Cover with ? of the shredded mozzarella or béchamel. Repeat with another layer of noodles, ? of the filling, and ? of the mozzarella. Repeat one more time and finish with a layer of noodles. Thin the reserved béchamel with a little water. Pour over the top layer of noodles and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup parmesan over the béchamel. Cover with a layer of foil, place in oven, and let cook 30 minutes. Then remove foil and let bake for an additional 15 minutes to brown (you can also place it under the broiler for a few minutes at the end if you like it really brown.)

If you haven't already, check out www.goveg.com - they have a lot of great ideas. I could list tons... Easy (and cheap) burritos - your choice of shell, veggies, etc. Can be made in a million variations.