A New Twist on "Mom's Takeout"

So my kids announced last week that they were going vegetarian and could I please make meals without meat. Okay... Wow, I thought, this is going to be challenging. David and I are meat lovers, and generally I center the meal around the protein. So, I eagerly jumped into the new challenge and have been diligently searching the internet as well as asking various people for some good recipes. So far I've come up with a few...

These ratatouille-stuffed zucchini boats were delicious and satisfying, even without the meat! 

I also made a delicious lentil and pasta soup to go with the zucchini boats. This soup is loaded with vegetables swimming in a very good broth with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on top.

This spinach and mushroom lasagna was so good with the meaty mushrooms, spinach and cheesy cream sauce all melding together perfectly! I don't think I've had a better lasagna, and the no-boil noodles made it a snap to make. I sauteed fresh crimini mushrooms with chopped onion in a little olive oil until the mushrooms took on that nice golden-brown color and smelled like heaven. I made a bechamel sauce with cream and added nutmeg, fresh chopped spinach and lots of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Then I added the mushroom mixture and simply layered the noodles and sauce topping it off with more cheese. My house smelled divine while it baked in the oven--couldn't wait to taste it! YUM!

This is my take on Panzanella (bread salad) which makes a really good vegetarian salad that is quite satisfying. Use a good loaf of French bread cubed and made into croutons by tossing with olive oil and Kosher salt and baked in the oven until nice and golden. Add seeded, sliced English cucumbers, tomatoes, colored peppers, sliced red onions and Kalamata olives. Toss with your favorite vinaigrette and chopped fresh basil. Oh, and don't forget the capers!