Healthy Pasta Primavera

We made this dish together, it was a little timely cutting the vegetables, however this dish was delicious, we froze the leftovers in individual servings, and they thawed and reheated great!



Ingredients
1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 sweet orange peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 pound spaghetti
3/4 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic, sliced
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Shaved Parmesan, optional

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add asparagus and green beans; cook 4 minutes. Add peppers and cook 1 more minute. Scoop out vegetables with a large slotted spoon and place in a colander. Rinse under cold water.

2. Add pasta to boiling water and cook following package directions, about 9 minutes. Drain; return to pot.

3. While pasta is cooking, place half-and-half, chicken broth, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add cooked veggies and tomatoes. Cook, stirring a few times, about 1 minute, 30 seconds. Spoon into pasta pot. Stir grated cheese into the half- and-half mixture. Add to pasta and gently stir in parsley until all ingredients are combined. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Shave Parmesan on top, if desired

Quickest-Ever Spicy Marinara

This is another recipe from family circle... I loved it, my fiance liked it, he is getting used to pastas, and vegetarian meals LOL he loves his meat!!!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes in thick puree
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound extra-large (or traditional-size) rigatoni
1/2 cup fresh basil
6 tablespoons part-skim ricotta cheese

Directions
1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil, onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally so garlic doesn't burn. Add tomato paste and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and puree, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes. Break up tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. While sauce is simmering, cook pasta following package directions, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

3. Tear basil into bite-size pieces and stir into sauce. Toss pasta with sauce, adding 1/4 cup of reserved cooking water if needed to thin out sauce.

4. To serve, spoon pasta into individual serving bowls and top each with a tablespoon of ricotta.

Beet Soup

Remember in my previous post about my overabundance of beets from my bountiful basket? Well, I still have a bunch and they are still as good as new. So I found this recipe from Lisa's Kitchen.

Revisions: I used safflower oil instead of olive oil. I used half an onion and a stalk of celery. I used bulgur instead of barley, which didn't need to be presoaked. I used black eyed peas (beans) instead of black beans (I did soak them). I don't have fresh cracked pepper, so I just used regular black pepper. Just a few dashes. Instead of tamari I used Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids. I used a few dashes of dill weed instead of 1/2 cup of fresh dill. I left out the feta.

I had this with a side salad and garlic toast. My favorites. Yum.

Melissa

Pasta with Beets

I got about a dozen beets in my Bountiful Basket last week. I love beets but they are so messy that I never buy them. I did a google search for vegan beet recipes and this delicious recipe popped up. It was so easy and tasty!

I substituted celery for onion. I didn't have any onion, plus my husband hates it, unless it's in salsa. I didn't add greens. I did add about 6 cherry tomatoes, split in half. I also added 1/4 tsp of nutritional yeast and 1 tbsp of pine nuts.

I served this with fresh sliced mango and a side salad and garlic toast. I'm so full.

Melissa

Baked Orzo with Zucchini

This recipe comes from Vegetarian Times

I skipped the cheese. I could have used vegan cheese but I didn't feel like it. I threw in some pine nuts for protein. I skipped the leeks and used celery instead. I also didn't add salt to taste.

Delicious dinner. We had fresh mango, a salad, and garlic bread too.

Melissa

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

This was delicious and I will definitely make it again. I got the recipe from a tiny cookbook called Vegan A Go-Go! by Sarah Kramer.

1 small head of green cabbage

Filling:

1/4 cup bulgur

1/4 cup boiling water

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 large button mushrooms, minced

1 tbsp oil (I used safflower)

1 tbsp Braggs or tamari

1/8 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

3 tbsp walnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup cooked cabbage, finely chopped

Sauce:

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1 5.5 oz can tomato paste

1 tsp sweetener (maple syrup or sugar)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat ove to 350 F. Remove core from the cabbage and steam whole head for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Remove 6 large outer leaves and set aside.

To prepare the filling: in a small bowl, pour boiling water over bulgur. Cover with lid and set aside. In a medium saucepan on medium heat, saute the onions, garlic, and mushrooms in the oil until onions are translucent. Add the Braggs, paprika, pepper, cayenne, walnuts, and bulgur and saute for 6-8 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the cooked minced cabbage and set aside.

To prepare the sauce: in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat, saute the garlic in the oil until translucent. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Assemble cabbage rolls by dividing filling among the 6 reserved leaves. Roll each leaf and arrange in a lightly oiled 8x8 in baking dish. Spoon sauce evenly over top and bake for 20-25 minutes. Makes 2 large or 4 small servings. Sauce makes approx 2 cups.

Melissa

Chili

I love Healthy Bitch Daily. This was the easiest chili recipe I have ever made. I will make it for years to come. The husband and I devoured it.

I forgot to take a picture but chili looks like chili, you know?

Enjoy,

Melissa