The Vegan Kids Kitchen: Mai Mai's Vegan Lasagna!!!

Italian, anyone?!? A go-to dish, that is filling and delicious, oh and did I mention, can be made ahead of time!!! (another upside to making in advance, no cleanup during the mad rush, at least that's what I call mealtime around this joint, LOL)

This is a CLASSIC in our household and I love making this because it really can be done the night before or during nap time in the afternoon and be ready to go in the oven at dinner. The best part is watching my kids literally inhale this! I just made this recently for my neighbors who just had a baby(Congrats and welcome to the neighborhood little man:)!! So I have pics of the making, but not the actual finished product, which is odd because I make this once a month, at least. The next time I make it, I will take pics too!!
Anyways, I took this over to my parents house for a sunday night get together with all my family(brothers, sisters, their spouses, nieces, nephews), i.e. a bunch of non-vegans and well they were all raving about how good it was!! I had them officially fooled:)
Whenever I make this I really do think of my family; it is such a homey dinner and makes the best leftovers! I distinctly remember one time I was at my sisters house (it had to be about college age for me), but I hadn't been cooking a whole bunch and she wanted me to help. I told her no, I haven't cooked in ages, I would probably mess it up. Well she didn't let me get out of it that easy, she said ''this is the easiest thing to make, you can't mess it up" and she was right, it was a piece of cake and I loved it. Now that I have it VEGANIZED, it's hands down the best you've ever had!! Enjoy:)

p.s. This is one of those recipes that keeps getting better over time because of how much you make it and you figure out all the little tweaks and changes, so you are welcome in advance because this is ready to go:)))

Mai Mai's Vegan Lasagna

"Ricotta Cheese"
1 block extra firm tofu (pressed and crumbled)
2 cups Fresh (not frozen) Spinach and processed fine
1/2 cup veganise ("follow your heart" is best tasting brand IMO), you could get by with using a bit less too
1/2 cup Daiya shredded mozzarella vegan cheese
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (this is a dried flake that will give it a good cheesy taste, you can find at whole foods in bulk section)
1-2 tsp dried herbs: Garlic, Basil, Oregano(I just sprinkle to taste with this)
dash of salt and pepper and braggs amino acids(similar to soy sauce, but less sodium)

Once you have pressed tofu (I just wrap in paper towel and squeeze excess water out or you could put a plate with some weight on it to press out more, but I find it works the same:)
Mash the tofu with a potato masher (you want it to be a fine crumble, no big chunks, but not silky smooth either), then mix in the veganaise, cheese, yeast and herbs. It should be creamy and you can taste and make sure it is seasoned enough.

"Meat"
1 cup Textured Vegetable protein (again in the bulk dept)
1/4 cup onion
3 cloves garlic
2 cup broth (veggie)
dash of vegan worcheshire, braggs, and hickory smoke

Saute the onions and garlic until translucent and fragrant, then add the tvp and broth, this just needs to be a medium heat, you do not want to boil the tvp as it will lose its shape. After the tvp is soft, mix into the sauce. OR you could buy the frozen boca crumbles in the freezer section of the nature dept at kroger or any grocery!!

Assemble all ingredients in layers, starting with a thin layer of sauce, then noodles (I get uncooked or oven ready from giant eagle, make sure they don't have egg in them!!!), then "ricotta", then sauce and continue on until you get to the last layer of noodles and then top with just sauce! Please post any questions or comments!