Main course: Vegetarian

KRAFT 4 Cheese Italian Vegetarian Lasagne

Prep: 30 min   Ready In: 1 hr 15 min   Serves: 12    

1 can (10oz/284 mL) cream of mushroom soup  

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tsp. basil

2 cups small broccoli florets, chopped

1 small red pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms

9 lasagne noodles, cooked and drained

3 cups KRAFT 4 CHEESE ITALIANO Shredded Cheese   

COMBINE soup, milk, ricotta cheese, eggs and basil. Set aside.  

COMBINE vegetables in microwaveable bowl. Microwave at HIGH 2 minutes.  

LAYER 3 noodles, 1/3 of the soup-ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the vegetables and 1/3 of the cheese in 9 X 13 inch (3L) baking dish. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles, soup-ricotta mixture and cheese.  

BAKE at 375° F (190° C) for 40 to 45 minutes until lasagne is hot and bubbling.

My youngest sister is vegetarian, so we try various recipes hoping to find things my kids will eat without moaning about the veggies. We got this recipe from the Kraft Canada website. It’s very yummy and so rich you don’t even miss the meat.

I alter it sometimes, adding chopped spinach to the egg/cheese filling, using different coloured peppers, substituting zucchini for the broccoli, etc. Whatever works.

My daughter is not a vegan but is a strict vegetarian, and I have difficulty finding foods that give her what she needs nutritionally without violating her vegetarian principles.  For example, she won't touch many cheeses (Kraft included) because they are made using rennet from calves' stomachs, so we have a short-list of cheese brands made from vegetable rennet or microbial enzymes from which to choose.  Even breads have some of these ingredients.  Short of writing to every food company on the planet, how does one know which brands use animal-based ingredients and which don't?

Recently, after her oral surgery, we discovered that most antibiotics and pain relievers have ingredients that may come from animal sources like magnesium stearate, mono- and diglycerides, and glycerin.  I even wound up calling Advil to see if the magnesium stearate in their ibuprofen was from an animal source.  (It was.)

That's when I panicked.  I mean, while one may be able to suffer through pain, antibiotics can be vital.  How do others deal with these issues?