Good Friday Dinner

We eat grilled cheese, mac n cheese, cheese pizza, cereal, veggie soup. I can't eat fish, I'm allergic to it. But my mom used to make tuna rolls. My kids ate them too. I made meatless lasagna last week. Butter rice with cinnamon. Rice in tomato soup with grilled cheese. And Greek Salad with out meat and more potato salad.

My favorite meal is Spinach Lasagna. It is so good.

Ingredients and how to prepare them before building the lasagna

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Lasagna noodles

You cook the noodles according to the package and take them out of the boiling water when done and put them laid out on greased foil paper so they can be handled when putting the lasagna together.
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frozen chopped spinach, I use 2 boxes

Cook the spinach according to the directions on the package. Then let it cool. Drain it, smoosh it, twist it in a towel, smoosh it again, spin the strainer around, smoosh it again, get all the water out...it takes some doing...lol.
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ricotta cheese, depends on how much cheese you like in it. I like the big one. My vegetarian friend likes the small one.

Your favorite spaghetti sauce. I like the one that is chunky and is Garlic and Herbs. I use 2 cans/jars of it and use a slotted spoon to put it on the spinach mix.

1 egg, stir it up a bit to break the yolk and mix it up.

Some dried parsley if you like the flavor, about 1 teaspoon if you like a little, up to a Tablespoon if you like it very well. I don't really like it so I leave it out.

Sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese. a couple of cups or a bunch of slices. They tend to be more uniform and melt nicely.

Various items like olive oil, foil greased with olive oil, a lasagna pan or 13"X9" pan greased inside with olive oil on the bottom and sides.

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The spinach mix.

Cooked spinach, dump in the egg in, dump in the ricotta, add the parsley if you want it. Mix it up well. I use my hands and mush it like meat loaf. Set it aside.
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I usually have 2 layers in my 13"X9" pan. I do not put noodles on the bottom but do top it off with them then put cheese on the top of the noodles.

Now you have the spinach mix, the lasagna noodles, the sauce, the cheese, etc..all ready to build a lasagna.

If you like lasagna noodles on the bottom then put 3 on the bottom of the greased pan. If that fills the bottom of the pan then add some of the spinach mix.

So, it goes like this.....read it from bottom to top...

top of lasagna
Cheese
noodles
spaghetti sauce
spinach mix
cheese
noodles
spaghetti sauce
spinach mix
bottom of pan

Cover with the oiled foil and bake about 20-30 minutes until it is heated all the way through and the egg has had time to cook.

Keep the foil.......use it to cover the top of the lasagna when it bakes. The cheese can stick to the foil and make the lasagna top cheese-less...lol.

We gave up meat (and many other things) for lent, so we've been struggling with meatless meals for awhile now. We've done all of the things you mentioned, but we also eat a ton of beans.

Red beans and rice
Bean and cheese burritos
Cheese enchiladas with rice and beans
Tostadas with beans and cheese (this one is a favorite in our house)
Nachos with either just cheese or beans and cheese

We also make soup every week, sometimes twice. My kids like spicy foods, and most of these soups are spicy.

Cheesy potato with jalapeno
Creamy rice
Tortilla Soup
Black bean soup with jalapenos and green peppers
Bean soup (we just throw in as many different kinds of beans as we can think of and add a ton of spices along with corn and jalapenos and green peppers)

Enjoy cooking! It's almost Easter - Yay!!!

Can you grill some salmon or bake some talapia with some side dishes?

One of our favorite meatless meals is sauteed veggies (zucchini, eggplant, onions, garlic) plus a can of diced tomatoes...served over polenta, sprinkled with sharp cheddar :). I think I'll make it this week as well...it's been a while. Another one of our favorites is taco salad with black beans instead of meat. If you like tofu...we really like tofu curry. My kids will eat any of those...but they're not picky at all. We also like vegetarian baked beans and cornbread...that's one of the kids favorites...but it's not really a...special meal or anything :p. Anyway...allrecipes.com has a bunch of good vegetarian recipes...good luck!

This is what my kids eat during Lent on meatless days:

Quiche cheese or veggie (thin sliced roasted leeks, spinach, minced garlic, swiss, and goat cheese is best)
Bean and Cheese Burritos (refried with melted cheese alone or cold with whole beans, southwest style rice, shredded jack,jalapeno, or colby, and picante salsa for added body and freshness is fine)
Cheese Enchiladas
Lasagne Caprese Style (alfredo sauce, mozarella, fresh basil, sun dried tomato)
3 Cheese Lasagne
Macaroni and Cheese (with or without veggies- our fav is Brocolli)
Shrimp Fried Rice with a side veggie egg rolls and/or cream cheese puffs
Veggie Lo Mein
Crepes with spinach and cheese
Crepes breakfast style
French Toast traditional style
Fruit topped Stuffed (cream cheese n' cinnamon) French Toast
Grilled Salmon in Hollandaise Sauce
Grilled Salmon in Teriyaki
Garlic sauteed shrimp on linguini
Breaded shrimp
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches (fresh or try it grilled...mmm)
Roasted Leek and Potato Soup
Creamy Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese sandwiches
Spinach,goat cheese, and Phyllo Pie
Portobello Mushroom burgers (marinate in Worcestershire sauce then grill like burgers, add a cheese slice, lettuce etc. and serve on bun...mmm)
Veggie Burgers
Grilled Shrimp Poor Boy sandwiches
Grilled Tuna salad sandwich melt with swiss (we use jarred pesto instead of mayo or miracle whip)
Seasoned bread crumb and buttered potato gnocci
gnocci in basil marinara
Tuna casserole
salads and soups (Chef salad tossed with salmon chunks or tiny shrimp is good, and Minnestrone is hearty)

re-fried bean taco's
rice and bean burrito's
scrambled eggs w/ peppers and tomatoes
cheese quesadilla's
tostado's with guacamole or re-fried beans or both
eggplant Parmesan
broccoli rice and cheese casserole

Hi G., I love puttanesca with Halibut. Even my kids will eat it, course if they knew what was IN it......;)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/halibut-p...

I don't use a recipe really, but this one looks pretty good. You can certainly use a different fish too.

:)

I think it's fun to make sandwiches with crescent rolls. You can have them roll cheese or peanut butter and nutella (ok, maybe that one for dessert!) into a crescent roll and bake it up. Maybe for sides you can make some homemade sweet potato fries, or cheese or potato perogies or dumplings? I'm trying to think of all of the fun stuff we DIDNT get in catholic school on Fridays growing up. :)

Green pepper and egg sandwiches! Classic Good Friday meal : )

We're having beer-battered fish and chips. Our neighbour is a fisherman and gives us fresh beautiful fish.

Baked potatoes with your favorite toppings with a side of broccoli or any other favorite fresh vedge.
Baked potatoes are a good dinner meal, especially if you eat the skin.
Helps you sleep well.

Chinese is also really easy to do without meat. We just had it last night! I made tofu in a homemade orange sauce for me and hubby but I bought veggie egg rolls and then made rice, stir fry veggies and edamame...my kids LOVE edamame and will happily eat stir fry broccoli and carrots. We give up all animal products (not my kids yet) for Lent so I've had to get really creative! ;)

Veggie fajitas or taco salad with beans and guacamole in place of sour cream is really good too!