Potato and Cheeze Lasagna

I never grew up eating lasagna.  I honestly cannot remember my mom ever making it.  I have one memory of eating lasagna at a young age, and absolutely loathing it.  It doesn't make much sense, considering that I loved baked ziti and all pasta in general.  Regardless, I was repulsed.

Dayv on the other hand, LOVES lasagna.  Before we got married, he was a huge fan of Amy's Cheese Lasagna, and would eat it several nights a week for dinner.  Price was obviously no object to him.

Fast forward to about a week ago.  Dayv and I were in the freezer section of Whole Foods.  We were searching to see if there was a fun, new gluten-free vegan box meal that appealed to him(I occasional allow him to splurge on ONE).  He spotted the Amy's Lasagna, and in the saddest voice ever, he said, "I miss lasagna..............."  Poor boy.  "I will make you lasagna!"  I declared.  "And you will love it!"  So this past weekend, I made Dayv his very own gluten-free and vegan lasagna.  And guess what, he loved it!  (Hey, I'm no liar!)

For some reason, I always thought making lasagna was a very time consuming process.  But this recipe isn't like that at all.  I don't roll that way.  The only real prep is to make the noodles and boil the potatoes.  But that doesn't take long at all!  And the assembly?  Piece of cake.  

I use two types of cheezes in this recipe- shredded and a spread.  For the spread, I used a new type called NuttyCow, which I graciously received from the company to test out.  Dayv really liked the Garlic Herb flavor, and commented that it gave the lasagna a nice zing.  But, you can easily use my cashew cheeze, vegan ricotta cheeze, or your own personal favorite cheeze spread.  I suggest adding your own garlic and herbs to your cheeze spread if you want a similar zing to your lasagna.  

And PS- if you mess up the layers, it's no big deal.  No one will notice.

Potato and Cheeze Lasagna

makes one 8x8" casserole 

-1 package gluten-free lasagna (I used Tinkyada)

-2 large yukon gold potatoes- scrubbed and cut into 1/8-1/4" slices

-1/3 cup vegan cheeze spread (mixed with additional herbs, if desired)

-1 1/4-2 cups tomato sauce

-1 1/2 cups vegan mozzarella-style cheeze (I used Daiya)

Preheat oven to 350.  Pull out your 8x8" casserole dish and set aside.

Cook pasta according to instructions.  Set aside.

Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add potato slices and boil on medium/high for 8-10 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork.  Keep an eye on them because you don't want to over boil them.  They should not fall apart when you cut them with a fork.  Drain and set aside.  

Spread 3/4-1 cup of tomato sauce(depending on how saucy you like it) on the bottom of your ungreased dish.  Lay 3 lasagna noodles overtop, covering the tomato sauce.  You can either cut the noodles to fit, or you can easily fold them over.  Next scatter 1/2 cup of mozzarella over the noodles.  Using half of the potatoes, lay each slice overtop the cheeze covered pasta, so they cover it completely and do not overlap.  Next, take 1/2 of the cheeze spread and sporadically place small spoonfuls over the potatoes.  Top with an additional 3/4-1 cup of tomato sauce.  Continue to layer- 3 noodles, 1/2 cup mozzarella, the reminder of the potatoes,  the remainder of the cheeze spread, 3 more noodles, tomato sauce, and last 1/2 cup of mozzarella.  Cover with aluminum foil and place in preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven, slice up, and enjoy!