Meatless Monday Wednesday

Meatless Monday got pushed back a couple of days this week. On Monday I was all set to make one of our favorite dishes with soysage instead of sausage, but for a couple of reasons we ended up picking up pepperoni and bacon pizzas instead. Whoops.

And then last night Steph and Pete got taken to the Red Sox–Yankees game, so we didn't have a family dinner at all.

But! Just because it's Wednesday doesn't mean we have to eat meat. So tonight I made Baked Ziti with Spinach and Tomatoes, which is probably my family's #1 favorite meal. The kids call it "Crispy Noodles," because the ziti and cheese do get nicely browned and crunchy in the oven. I've been making this forever, and it never disappoints.

Normally I use the garlic-herb chicken sausages from Whole Foods, which have a nice flavor but are not too spicy for the kids. But tonight I used MorningStar Farms Meal Starters, which are similar to the Lightlife Smart Grounds I used last week. It's crumbled up soy stuff that you use the same way you'd use ground beef (or, in this case, sausage dumped out of its casings). The nice thing about the MorningStar Farms product is that it's frozen, whereas the Lightlife is refrigerated (and perishable). Also, I don't know whether I did something wrong with the Lightlife, but it stuck to the pan something horrible when I tried to saute it in a little oil, whereas this MorningStar Farms stuff did not.

The kids said that the final dish tasted exactly like the usual sausage version. Andy and I both enjoyed it very much but did notice a slight lack of flavor. I think if I either used a flavored soysage product or added some more garlic and onions, it would be better.

So, we finally did it: a true vegetarian meal without seafood or chicken broth this time. Nyah nyah!

Comments

[Capabilitymom]

Do I see a typo? Meatles? Get an editor, stat!

[Karen]

Yes, typo fixed, thanks! (I had been so concerned with figuring out how to make the "Monday" look deleted that I missed that last "s"!)

[Mir]

Congratulations, Karen, you did it! ;)

I do find you need more spices when using that faux meat stuff. Now, next time make it with cubes of eggplant and Chickie will give you a gold star!

[Karen]

And ... Andy will give me a lump of coal because he hates eggplant. :-(

[Elena]

I can't get past the idea of this fake meat stuff. I don't mind going meatless, but I'd rather stick to recipes that don't require me to use something that pretends to be meat, but isn't. Is that so wrong?

[Karen]

I tried fake meat twice in two weeks -- and had never had it before. I don't think of it as trying to fake me out as meat, but rather as protein and texture in a dish. I would never eat, say, a soy hot dog in a roll.

[Lori S.]

I made your recipe (sans spinach) tonight for the boys and they loved it. Because we have a kosher-style home (no milk and meat), I use fake meat all the time. I have a great "turkey" chili recipe that I can send to you.