Linguini with Mushroom Cheese Sauce

I am making up for lost time and posting two dinners from last week. They are totally out of order, I apologize. I really need to start posting on time again!

This is a creamy pasta dish that is really yummy and totally unhealthy! Lots of butter, cheese and pasta, so make this dish one for occasional eating rather than regular dinner time fare. I served an arugula salad with this for some greens and it was pretty tasty too. That recipe may come another time though.

Linguini with Mushroom Cheese Sauce

1/4 cup butter

2 TBS olive oil

1 lg package white mushrooms, sliced

2 TBS flour

3/4 cup light cream

1 cup 2 % milk

1/4 cup white wine or sherry (cooking wine or cooking sherry would be fine to use)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

12 oz linguine

1. Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and saute about 5 minutes or longer until tender.

2. Sprinkle flour into skillet and stir with a whisk until a thick paste forms.

3. Slowly stir in mile and cream, stirring constantly.

4. Reduce heat and simmer about 3 minutes.

5. Stir in wine and cheese. Serve over cooked pasta.

Traditional Lasagna veggie style

I found this recipe in a Junior Welfare League cookbook out of Enid Oklahoma. With that said it should be clear any dish from this cookbook is traditional country fare. Nothin' fancy and certainly not vegetarian. I always loved traditional meat lasagna, and most of the veggie lasagnas fell short of meeting my expectations. Then I found this recipe and modified it only by using soy crumbles in place of the ground beef. It is delicious!!! Meat eaters and vegetarians both delight when tasting this dish. Great with a salad and garlic bread. Enjoy!

Lasagna

1 small onion, chopped

1 pkg morning star burger style crumbles

2 - 3 cloves garlic, mashed

salt and pepper

2 TBS fresh parsley

1 tsp fennel seed

2 tsp dried basil

1 TBS dried oregano

2 cans (28 oz) chopped tomatoes

1 (8 oz) can tomato paste

12 lasagna noodles

1/2 lb shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups low fat cottage cheese (original recipe probably uses full fat, but low fat works great)

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package description

2. Saute onion in a large pot for about 3 minutes. Add crumbles, garlic and spices. Cook until crumbles are thawed and beginning to brown.

3. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Add a touch of salt and some pepper to taste. Simmer about 20 minutes.

4. Spoon 1/3 sauce in bottom of 9 X 13 baking dish. Layer with noodles, mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers 3 times and end with noodles. Top with cheese and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Madrid Beans and Rice

Oh boy, I have fallen way behind on documenting and sharing our dinners from the week. Yikes! I really don't even know if this is the next dish following the last one posted, but it is my best guess. I know we ate it last week, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday? It is yummy and easy all the same, no matter which day we consumed it.

I served this with a side of flavored tofu for a bit more protein.

Madrid Beans and Rice

olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, mashed

1 3/4 cup veggie broth

14.5 oz chopped tomatoes, undrained

1 cup white rice (Jasmine or Basmati)

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

15oz can kidney beans

1/2 cup (or more) frozen peas

small jar or pimiento (I've skipped this before, so don't worry if you can't find them)

1. Heat oil in a large pan and saute onions for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook a couple more minutes, until onion begins to brown and soften.

2. Add broth and bring to a boil.

3. Add tomatoes, return to a boil.

4. Add rice, thyme, cumin, red pepper. Gently stir to mix ingredients. Return to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered 15 minutes.

5. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, covered, another 10 minutes until most liquid is absorbed and beans & peas are heated.

Broccoli and Cheddar Pasta

Looking for a quick simple dinner tonight? This is it. A one dish wonder if you want it to be. If offers a veggie, carb and protein all in one! I love that. As far as fake chicken, I think veggie delight or quorn work best for this dish.

Broccoli and Cheddar Pasta

olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts OR walnut halves

1 pkg veggie delight chicken OR 1 box quorn naked patties, cubed

1 bunch broccoli, chopped

2 cloves garlic, mashed

1/2 cup veggie broth

1 TBS fresh basil, chopped

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (Cabot white cheddar is excellent for this!)

12 oz. small pasta like penne or shells

1. Heat small amount of oil over medium heat in a skillet, add nuts and cook a couple minutes until just turning brown.

2. Remove nuts. Add "ficken" to the skillet and cook a few minutes until just browning.

3. Add broccoli and garlic, cook 3 - 5 minutes. Add broth and red pepper flakes.

4. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.

5. Stir in cheddar and nuts. Serve.

Temphe and Leek Bake

For those of you wanting different ways to eat temphe, this is a great dish. If you like swiss cheese, leeks and potatoes, this is definently for you. Home country cooking veggie style! I chose a good swiss cheese from the cheese counter, which really made a difference. I have made this before with Kraft shredded swiss, and it was alright, even tastey, but it lacked a bit of flavor a good swiss can offer.

We had this with a side of peas for something green.

Remember, when using leeks, soak in water after cutting, then swirl around a bit to rinse any packed in dirt. Drain before using.

Temphe and Leek Bake

1 pound baby potatoes, cubed

olive oil

2 leeks, sliced

1 TBS garlic, mashed

1 pkg temphe, cubed and sprinkled with soy sauce

6 - 8 oz swiss cheese, shredded OR cubed

1 TBS Dijon mustard

1/4 cup parsley

Pre-heat oven to 425

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water until just tender - do NOT over cook

2. Saute leeks and garlic in olive oil until leeks begin to brown.

3. Add temphe and cook about 5 more minutes until it starts to brown.

4. Place into a baking dish.

5. Add 2 TBS of olive oil into the pan and cook potatoes until browned.

6. Mix into the temphe mixture, add mustard, cheese and parsley.

7. Cook 10 - 12 minutes.

Veggie tart

This is a wonderful dish that I modified for the first time a couple nights ago. I found the original recipe in a magazine many years ago and it was called "Fabulous Fritata". I made the recipe many times, loved it, but struggled to cook it through without burning the top or bottom. I had an idea this last time around and it worked! I turned it into more of a tart, cooked in a pie dish with a crust. Lovely, just delicious. Easier cleanup, easier prep.

3/4 pkg Morningstar sausage style crumbles

2 cups thinly sliced red potato

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 tsp dried rosemary

2 cups (or a bit more) fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic

4 large eggs, 8 egg whites

4 oz crumbled feta cheese

Pre-made rolled out pie crust

olive oil

1. Saute potato in a large non-stick skillet in olive oil for a couple minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, rosemary, crumbles, salt and pepper. Cook about 5 - 10 minutes until potatoes are just tender.

2. Stir in spinach and garlic, cook one more minute. Remove from heat.

3. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Pour into veggie mixture. Add cheese. Stir gently to combine.

4. Pour mixture into a pie dish covered with the pie crust. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes until cooked through and browned on the top.

*picture to come later!*

Parmesan "Ficken" and Rice Casserole

This is not the red sauce Chicken Parmesan you may be thinking of. Oh no. This is a wonderfully simple and delicious dish using Parmesan cheese and a bit of whipping cream to for a casserole. We had this on Monday night and I modified the dish a little bit from the original recipe found in Cooking Light. The obvious change is using fake chicken. The second modification is replacing boil-in bag brown rice (yuck) with real wild rice (yum!). This of course adds a bit of time to the preparation, but well worth it for the added flavor and nutrition.

Parmesan "Ficken" and Rice Casserole

1 cup chopped onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup wild rice, uncooked

1 1/2 cups veggie broth

1/3 cup dry white wine OR white cooking wine

1 package veggie delight patties, cut into quarters

1/2 tsp dried thyme OR 1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

3 TBS whipping cream

1/3 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Cook rice in veggie broth for 45 - 50 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Set aside.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Saute onion for about 3 minutes, then add garlic. Cook until onion begins to brown. Deglaze pan with the wine, cook about 3o seconds. Stir in rice. Remove from heat.

3. Spoon rice mixture into a 13 X 9 inch baking dish. Arrange veggie chicken on the top, sprinkling with thyme and salt. Pour cream evenly over the chicken and rice mixture.

4. Bake for 25 minutes at 425 degrees. Sprinkle with cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes.

This was great with Green Beans Tarragon as a side dish. Look back in my blog archive to find the recipe.