Mushroom and Green Bean Pasta

Salty, sweet, crunchy, soft - this dish has a variety of flavors and textures. Is there anything else you could dream about for your Meatless Monday dinner?

This has to be one of mine (and my Mom’s) favourite dishes; it’s a quick and healthy way to dress up pasta with two of my favourite veggies - green beans and mushrooms! Sure, there’s a little butter and some Parmesan cheese but hey, live a little.

I’m sure other vegetables would taste delicious in here - red peppers and broccoli come to mind. I don’t think you could go wrong either way... this is just too good.

Mushroom and Green Bean Pasta (serves 4)

Ingredients

12 oz (340 g) short twisted pasta
1 cup (8 oz) shiitake mushrooms
4 oz green beans, cut in half
4 tbsp butter
1 small onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water
2 tsp dried thyme
4 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook pasta as per directions on the box.

Prepare the vegetables: grate onion, chop garlic, wash and cut green beans in half, wash mushrooms.

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a pan over medium-high heat, saute onion for 2 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.

De glaze the pan with 1/4 cup white wine, scraping up all the bits at the bottom. Cook until the liquid has reduced by half.

Reduce heat to medium and add in the mushrooms, green beans and 1 tbsp of butter . Cook stirring a few times for 5 minutes. Add in 1/4 cup of water and cook for another 4 minutes. Adding the thyme partway through.

Turn the heat off and add in the remaining tbsp of butter and the Parmesan cheese.

Serve over cooked pasta.

Enjoy this Meatless Monday dish - it's my favourite!

- Lou

Bolognese Sauce

Seems as if I'm all about the sauces these days! Three in a row! First pesto sauce, then pizza sauce, and now, this scrumptious and aromatic bolognese sauce! This is, honestly the best meat sauce I have ever tasted, and smelled. It's aroma fills up the entire house. And guess what? Even after being in the fridge for a couple of days, when you take the lid of it's container, you're engulfed in the smell of this delicious sauce.

Somehow, someone works their magic, and all of the flavours just blend together in perfect harmony. It's like, when you're listening to an orchestra, and it sounds amazing, but then when you listen to just one instrument on it's own, it's not quite as wonderful, but somehow together all the instruments create magic. You know, if you're into orchestras and all that jazz. (Pun intended.)

I think everyone (obviously, not vegetarians!) love a good meat sauce, there is something so comforting about it, and on these cold November nights, there is nothing better than a nice comforting dish.

I can already tell that this recipe is going to be a staple around here during the winter months, and I can't wait to make it again!

p.s How cute is this bowl? Gotta love Anthropologie and my mother's obsession with everything being mismatched!

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients
1 lbs ground chicken or turkey
1 lbs sausage meat (preferably spicy)
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 stalk celery
1 carrot
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 5.5oz can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp milk
pepper to taste

Directions

If you've got a food processor, throw in the red pepper, celery, carrot and onion, and pulse a few times until your desired size. I like my vegetables to be small, especially so that my sister would eat it, she hates all things veggies, so I pulsed probably about 5 or 6 times. If you don't have a food processor, you could chop them by hand, I just found this to be a lot easier, and less time consuming. Once finished, set your vegetables aside.

Next, throw the chicken/turkey and sausage meet in a pan and cook.

Once the meat is cooked, add in the chopped veggies, and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add in the crushed garlic and cook for another minute.

Spoon in the tomato paste, and stir it around in the pan, you want it to be evenly distributed and be sure to let it cook for about a minute in order for it to sweeten. After the minute, add in the crushed tomatoes and stir. Finally, stir in the milk and lastly, add in salt, pepper, nutmeg and herbs (basil, oregano).

Simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes. Once done simmering, serve with whichever pasta you like, we went with whole wheat rotini!

Hope that you enjoy this sauce, I can't get enough of it!

- Lou

recipe adapted from: Tyler's Ultimate Lasagna

Pesto Sauce

Basil is one of my favourite herbs, so pesto sauce sounded like a delicious meal for Meatless Monday. Now, it's been years and years since I last had pesto, my mom used to buy it for us and we loved it, then one day, suddenly I hated it. Don't know why, but I just did. So, the other day when I had a craving for pesto, I was a little confused. I thought I hated it? Well, I ended up giving in and making some pesto! It was marvelous. The perfect balance of flavours paired with fresh pasta (from the grocery store... I wish I could make my own!)

Hope that everyone has had a great, and meatless Monday! Sorry this post came so late in the day, I meant to post it this morning... but, sometimes, life just doesn't go as planned!

Pesto Sauce

Ingredients
1 cup basil leaves
2 tbsp pine nuts
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil

Directions

Layer all of the ingredients in a food processor, basil first, and on top of the basil (to weigh it down) the pine nuts, garlic clove, Parmesan and oil. Pulse until desired results.

After making this from scratch, and it being so easy, I don't think that I'll ever understand why people buy pesto sauce at their grocery store and don't make it from scratch!

- Lou

Meatless Monday... Take 3 - Baked Tortellini

It's time for my weekly "Meatless Monday" post! Last week was Victoria Day up here in Canada, so I didn't have time to post. Today I wanted to make something tasty and filling, I went with a Martha Stewart "Baked Raviolli" recipe. I made a few adjustments and it tasted fantastic. This was my first time using tortellini, and it was fantastic. I will definitely be making this recipe more often.

Just take a peek at the magic beneath the layer of melted cheese.


Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped (or in my case, grated.)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, or oregano
2 cans (56 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 pound store-bought tortellini (I had herbs and three cheese. SO good!)
mozzarella and Parmesan to taste

Note: This will make a lot of sauce, I was able to freeze about a Tupperware full!

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Soften onion, garlic, salt and pepper in the oil. Add in the thyme and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Whilst all of that is going on, bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook tortellini until they float to the top (this will happen super quickly, make sure you watch the pasta!) Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. (The sauce that you have not set aside for freezing!)

Poor the pasta and sauce into a large oven safe dish and cover with mozarella and Parmesan. Bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Make this now. It is the most delicious meal ever.

- Lou

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Baked Ravioli

Pasta Salad

I would like to start by saying that in my last "Meatless Monday" post (found here) someone pointed out to me that fish is considered meat. I would like to clear it up that for myself I have never considered fish a type of meat, but everyone has their own opinions on the matter, and mine is that fish isn't meat. Therefore my "Meatless Mondays" posts may contain fish sometimes.

This week I have decided to make a vegetarian only meal of a colourful and delectable pasta salad! Perfect for a "Meatless Monday" or a nice and light summer meal. This recipe for pasta salad is absolutely amazing, not only is it very simple, and containing fresh vegetables but seriously, every single person who has tried this pasta salad has immediately fallen in love. When my friends come over they request this all the time!

Ingredients
1 package of your favourite pasta (rotini, fussili and penne work best.)
4 small pickles
2 green onions (green parts only)
8 kalamata olives
half a red pepper
1 carrot (grated)

Dressing
2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar (note: using dark balsamic vinegar will make your pasta brown.)
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
1 1/2 tbsp dried basil
1 1/2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl.

Cook and drain the pasta, following the directions on the box. Toss the warm pasta (make sure it's warm in order to infuse the pasta with the flavours of the dressing!)

Next, chop up all of the vegetables and add them to pasta. Toss and serve!

Please note: This is an amazing school or work lunch. Throw it in a Tupperware and you're good to go!

- Lou