Served this up at my husband's 40th birthday party to a houseful of meat-lovers. EVERYONE was floored by its awesomeness.  I can't wait to make it again.

Enlist a kitchen helper to put this ROCKIN' vegetable lasagna recipe together.  There's nothing complicated about pulling it together, but it does take some time to get everything chopped.  The trick to making this dinner simple is prepping all the ingredients first.  It's well worth all the effort, too!

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

serves 12

• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 12 garlic cloves, minced
• 12 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 head broccoli, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 (14.5-ounce) sweet corn, rinsed & drained
• 1 package firm tofu
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 2 quarts pasta sauce
• 2 boxes lasagna noodles
• 2 (10-ounce) bags frozen spinach, thawed & drained
• 2 sweet potatoes, cooked & mashed
• 6 Roma tomatoes, sliced thin
• 1 cup raw cashews, ground

Heat oven to 400ºF. degrees.

Sauté the onion, garlic, and mushrooms on medium-high heat in just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook until onion is tender, 8 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Reserve any liquid in the pan.  Sauté the broccoli and carrots for 5 minutes and add to the vegetable bowl.  Sauté the bell peppers and corn until crisp tender.  Add them to the vegetable bowl.

Drain the tofu well.  Break it up and mix into the vegetables.  Add spices and toss.

TIME TO PUT IT TOGETHER

Cover the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch casserole dish with a layer of sauce. Add a layer of noodles.  cover the noodles with sauce.  Spread the vegetable mixture over the sauced noodles.  Cover with a layer a noodles and another layer of sauce.  Add the spinach to the second layer of sauced noodles.  Cover the spinach with the mashed sweet potatoes.  Add another layer of sauce, the final layer of noodles, and a last topping of sauce.   Cover the lasagna with thinly sliced Roma tomatoes.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove the foil, sprinkle with ground cashews, and return to the oven for 15 minutes.  Let it stand for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Divide into 12 servings.

Serve with a dark leafy green salad on the side.

I got this AWESOME recipe from The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan that Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds

Give yourself a break and watch the video.

I'm giving away 1-year subscriptions to Martha Stewart's Whole Living Magazine from now through August. Watch the video to get all the details.

Drawings will be held April 28th, May 1st, June 1st, July 1st, and August 1, 2012

APRIL WINNER: Sherri Jo from The Adventures of Kitchen Girl

MAY WINNERS: Susan Hatcher from Georgia, Louise Larsen from Hawaii, and Megan McDaniel from Texas!!!
I chose 3 winners because they were the only gals that participated this month.

JUNE WINNERS ??? 

GET THE FULL RECIPE HERE.

Oatmeal has gone from the last thing I would ever eat to the first thing I think about eating.  It's the steel-cut oats that really make the difference.  For years, I've tried eating rolled oats, but I could never get past the texture.  I don't dig sticky mush.  Steel-cut oats are completely different. They have more of a chewy rice texture without the mush.

Now I'll admit, I'm still in the child-like stage when it comes to dressing up my oatmeal, i.e. I add a bit of sugar and lots of raisins, dried cranberries and chopped nuts.  I haven't matured to the point where I can eat oatmeal plain.  However, the other day I was wanting a pick me up snack in the afternoon and I went for a small bowl of cold oatmeal.  IT WAS GOOD!  I kid you not. It totally surprised me.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

enough for 6 servings

• 3 cups water
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 tablespoons raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup steel-cut oats

Bring water to a mild boil, add raisins, cranberries, pecan, sugar, cinnamon and steel-cut oats. Stir well. Cover. Reduce heat to LOW.  Set timer for 30 minutes.  Stir every 10 minutes or so, just to make sure the oats don't stick to the bottom.

If the oats have absorbed the water 8 to 10 minutes before the timer is set to go off, stir in another 1/2 cup more water.  Sometimes I need to do this.  Not all steel-cut oats are cut the same size, depends on the brand or if I buy them from a bulk bin.

After the oats have cooked for 30 minutes, keep them covered and remove from heat.  Let oats stand for 10 minutes.  Stir before serving.

Store any leftovers in the fridge. Cooked oats keep very well for up to a week.  Reheat either in a microwave or in a small saucepan with a splash of water or milk to help loosen the oats.

Tropic smoothies are awesome for breakfast, snack time, and dessert.  I shared this recipe with a friend and they said it would be good with a splash of rum.  I haven't tried their suggestion. If you try it, let me know what you think.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

Makes about 5 servings

• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 3 cold, medium bananas
• 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 cup frozen mango chunks
• 2 1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy, almond, coconut, etc.)

Blend on high speed for at least 20 seconds until completely smooth.

If you use frozen banana chunks, you'll have to add more milk for a slurpable consistency.  Otherwise, you have a thick, frozen shake in your glass.  Those are awesome, too.

For everyone who knows their way around Simple Daily Recipes, y'all know that I have ALWAYS offered up recipes with commonly found ingredients.  This is not one of them.  In fact, I could go so far as to say this is SDR's first uncommon ingredients recipe posted since 2007.  Times are a changin', my friends.  It's time to reach out beyond the ordinary and mundane.  Start exploring new ingredients and flavors.  Dare to eat beyond the average.  Live and eat for exceptional health with no take backs.

Makes 4-6 servings

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup unsalted raw cashews
• 1/2 cup silken tofu, drained
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened plain soy milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound pasta
• black pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, heat a thin layer of water (enough to cover the bottom of the pan) over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic, cover, cook until soft, 5 minutes.  Stir in the white wine vinegar, remove from heat and set aside.

In a high-speed blender, grind the cashews to a powder.  Add the onion-garlic mixture, tofu, and nutritional yeast.  Blend to a smooth consistency.  Add the soy milk and salt.  Pulse to blend.  Transfer to the saucepan used to cook onions and keep warm.

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and return to pot. Toss in the sauce.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Serve with a leafy green salad.

A few months back, I started the habit of drinking smoothies before breakfast.  It's now an addiction.  I can't go forward in my day without a creamy cold smoothie.  At first, it took some planning and stumbling to get the routine down and make sure I always had a variety of ingredients on hand.  One ingredient that always comes in handy is frozen banana chunks. They're perfect for chilling a smoothie or having a completely frozen treat.

Bananas can be used to make a smoothie creamy without making the flavor known.  The trick is in how ripe the banana is in the first place.  Slightly green bananas are harder to detect than spotty, sweet, ripe ones.  To get a quick creamy effect for a small smoothie serving, use frozen banana chunks like ice cubes every time.

Now, there's two ways to freeze bananas.

1. Peel the bananas. Lay the whole bananas on a baking sheet and freeze for a couple of hours.  Store whole frozen bananas in an airtight freezer bag.
2. Peel the bananas.  Break the bananas into 1- to 2-inch chunks. Lay the chunks on a baking sheet and freeze for up to an hour.  Store frozen bananas chunks in an airtight freezer bag.

Using whole frozen bananas is great when you need whole bananas and you have a strong blender.

I prefer to go with number two, breaking the bananas into chunks.  It's easier to reach into a bag of banana chunks to cool down a smoothie than trying to cut into a frozen banana.  And too, I have more portion control with chunks on hand.

Okay, I admit it.  I'm a control freak.  Love me anyway.

I've eaten my way through plenty of black bean burgers, from restaurants and out of the boxes.  And I've read too many recipes that called for a bunch of spices and ingredients. I finally accepted the truth that I haven't found one I would enjoy eating if ever I were a castaway on an island and it was all I had to eat.

For the past month, I've been mashing my way through cans of black beans to find my own delicious black bean burger recipe. Now, I have it down and ready to share.  I've made it uber simple with just a few common ingredients and the patties don't take long at all to fry up.  In fact, it takes longer to oven-fry a sheet pan full of fresh cut french fries than to cook up 9 black bean patties.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

Makes about 9 patties

• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 1 cup flour (unbleached all-purpose, whole wheat, or garbanzo)
• 1 tablespoon Colgin liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cups or 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained

Using a food processor with the steel blade attachment, drop in the onion and mince it. Add the flour, liquid smoke, oregano, cumin, chili powder and pepper.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse ingredients into a paste. Next, add 2 cups black beans to the processor bowl, scrape down the sides again, pulse until mix is well blended and smooth.  Add remaining beans.  This time, make 2 to 3 quick pulses to cut the beans into the mixture. Transfer the THICK bean mix into a medium bowl. The mix should be heavy, thick, and sticky. If it's not, add more flour.  If the mix ends up being completely smooth become of the extra flour blending, don't sweat it. The patties will still taste great. Trust me.

Next, heat a medium or large size skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Use just enough oil to lightly cover the bottom of the skillet. Let the pan and oil get hot before cooking patties.

Scoop 1/2 cup bean mix into the pan. Dip the back of a large metal spoon into the hot oil from the pan and use it to flatten and shape the patty. Keep the patty about 3/4-inch thick.  Fry the patties for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, then flip, fry another minute.  Transfer patties to baking sheet or serving platter.

Dress your burgers anyway you like.  Around here, we like to keep it simple with a little mayo and some kind of crunchy vegetable in between.

These black bean burger patties keep very well in the fridge. To reheat them, pop them in the microwave.  They're even strong enough to be heated in the toaster. I did it and it worked out fine.  We have a double toaster, so I toast my buns on one side and heat patties on the other. Talk about a FAST hot lunch.

This may sound like a strange combination, but trust me, it's wonderfully sweet.  The frozen, sweet cherries and cashews together make this smoothie taste like a cherry malt. I kid you not.  The banana lends its smooth thick texture and the spinach is only noticeable by its color.  If you're looking to get more iron and fiber in your day, chug-a-lug on a Cashew smoothie with spinach and cherries.

HERE'S ALL YOU NEED

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 1/2 cup frozen, sweet cherries
• 2 cold, medium bananas
• 2 cups unsweetened, non-dairy milk (soy, almond, coconut, etc.)

Blend on high in a drink blender for at least 20 seconds, until the nuts are completely ground.

This smoothie is a good source of Vitamin D 15%, Vitamin K 101%, Riboflavin 22%, Vitamin B6 18%, Folate 15%, Vitamin B12 25%, Magnesium 27%, Potassium 167% and Manganese 34%.