Ricotta "Cheez" and Vegetable Lasagna Dinner Party

We had our friends Dan and Caroline over for dinner to celebrate their wedding (which we missed in September). I tried a new veggie lasagna recipe using tofu-basil Ricotta "Cheez", which we had with a delicious fresh baguette from Whole Foods. I also made apple pecan bread pudding for dessert, which everyone, but me, had with vanilla ice cream. Every one thought that the ricotta "cheez" was real cheese, when it was actually a tofu-based creation that I had been wanting to try from post punk kitchen! So, everyone got an extra dose of protein with lots of vegetables in their very healthy lasagna! We had a great time, minus the surprise dog fight over attention under the dinner table (Bailor , Eric's dog, is definitely the alpha dog over Troy Puppymalu... and/or she was PMSing).

Ingredients/Supplies
Tofu Basil Ricotta "Cheez"
Casserole pan
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 zucchini, chopped into approximately 1 inch cubes
2 yellow squash, chopped into approximately 1 inch cubes
1 green bell pepper, sliced into approximately 1 inch pieces
1/2 package of chopped frozen spinach
1 bottle of marinara sauce (I got the $1.79 Tomato-Basil sauce from Whole Foods 365, yay cheap!)
1 package of no boil whole wheat lasagna noodles
3 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp oregano (or more to taste)
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes (or more to taste, more for me because I love spicy food!)
1 Tbsp fresh black pepper (or more to taste)
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Preparation:
-Prepare Tofu Basil Ricotta "Cheez" and set aside
-Preheat oven to 400 deg. F
-Warm olive oil and saute onion until slightly brown (about 5 minutes)
-Turn down heat on stove and add garlic (make sure the garlic doesn't burn)
-Add vegetables: zucchini, squash, pepper, spinach
-Mix well and add spices and herbs: basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, black peppers, salt.
-Cover vegetables on low heat. Taste a vegetable, if they are flavored well then add to a lasagna. If not, add more spices until it tastes good to you :-)
-Assemble the lasagna: add a layer of sauce to bottom of the casserole pan, single layer of lasagna noodles, spoon on tofu-basil ricotta cheez, spoon vegetables over the cheez, then another layer of lasagna noodles, another layer of sauce on top of the lasagna noodles, another layer of tofu-basil ricotta cheez, then vegetables... repeat until all the tofu-basil ricotta cheez and vegetables are gone. Finish with a layer of lasagna noodles and sauce on top of the noodles.
-Cover lasagna with foil and bake for 45 minutes. I ended up uncovering the casserole dish and letting it bake for another 5-10 minutes so that the top was harder and not slippery.

Tofu Basil Ricotta "Cheez"

I used this recipe from post punk kitchen to make "cheez" for veggie lasagna last night. I used the back of a fork instead of my hands and probably used more garlic because I lubba garlic.
It's a healthy alternative to a lot of dishes that use ricotta cheese, like a filling for stuffed shells, mixed with tomato sauce in pasta, or as a topping for pizza. No one knew it was tofu until I told them!

Ingredients
1 package of extra firm tofu
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
3 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (I got this from the bulk foods aisle at Whole Foods)
handful fresh basil leaves, chopped fine (ten leaves or so)
1 tsp fresh black pepper

Preparation
-Cut the block of tofu into thin slices and mash each slice with the back of a fork.
-In a large bowl, mix together mashed-sliced tofu, till it's crumbly.
-Add lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and basil. Mix/mash together again with the back of a fork on the sides of the bowl, until it reaches the consistency of ricotta cheese. May take 2-5 minutes.
-Add olive oil, stir with fork.
-Add nutritional yeast and combine all ingredients well.
-Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.