Pasta with Tofurkey sausage

Last nights meal was inspired by leftover ingredients. I made soup about a month ago that calls for homemade marinara sauce. The soup only requires a small portion of the sauce, leaving alot to be frozen for future use. I dug into the freezer last night, thawed out the marinara, and used it for pasta sauce. For added flavor and protein, I added some Italian style Tofurkey sausage to the sauce.

Pasta dinner is never complete without a salad, and last night I chose an arugula citrus salad. For those that of you than do not know this already, I LOVE arugula! It is my favorite green. It is full of bold flavor, with a pepper bite. I needed some arugula for another dish this week, and decided to use the rest of it for a salad - no wasted food! Blood oranges have been displayed at Whole Foods, so I bought some of those to add into the salad. I had planned to make a chicken dinner that called for avocado, but did not get to it soon enough, and I did not want the avocado to go bad, so that went into the salad too. As far as the dressing goes, I winged it, and it was good! Not overpowering, allowing the arugula and orange to take center stage. Add some dinner bread, and the meal is complete!

Arugula Citrus Salad

4 cups Baby arugula, rinsed (I don't measure, but used about 2/3 of the container)

1 blood orange, peeled and cut into bite sized sections

1 avocado, cut into small chunks

2 TBS orange juice

2 TBS white wine

1 TBS olive oil (again, didn't measure, just estimating here!)

1/2 clove garlic, thinly sliced (drain out garlic before pouring over salad)

Salt/pepper to taste

Pour dressing on salad right before serving

Marinara Sauce from Cooking Light

This makes ALOT, so have freezer containers ready to store the left over sauce.

3 TBS olive oil

3 cups yellow onions, chopped

1 TBS sugar

3 TBS minced garlic

1 tsp salt

2 tsp dried basil

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp ground pepper

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

2 TBS balsamic vinegar

2 cups veggie broth

3 (28 oz) cans no-salt added crushed tomatoes

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion to pan, saute about 4 minutes. Add sugar and next 7 ingredients, through fennel seeds. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vinegar, cook 30 seconds. Add broth and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, and cook over low heat for 55 minutes until sauce thickens. Stir occasionally.

(Makes 12 cups)

Pasta with Tofurkey sausage

2 Tofurkey sausage links, cut in half length wise, then chopped

5-6 cups marinara sauce

1 lb pasta ( I think Colavita brand pasta tastes much better than other brands)

Saute the sausage until browned. Add to simmering marinara sauce.

Cook pasta according to package, drain.