meatless pasta dishes

Hello my lovelies!

I meant to post these recipes during the Lenten season, but I never got a chance to. So, I'm adding them now. I decided that this week I'm going to try to be a bit of a vegetarian, or at least try to eat less meat and more veggies. Something along those lines. These work great whenever Becca or I have friends over that are vegetarian or prefer to eat meatless. Enjoy!

White Wine Sauce and Vegetables with Linguinie

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup of semi-dry white wine  (I use Wollersheim Winery's Prairie Fume)
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tbsp of butter
• 1/2 tbsp of flour
•  1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 10 to 15 large mushrooms, quartered
• 1 bunch of asparagus tips
• 1 box of linguinie, cooked

Directions:

1. In a large skillet on medium heat add 1 tbsp of olive oil, asparagus, and mushrooms. Stir gently for 5 mins until softened. Take off heat and set aside.
2. In a medium sauce pan over low heat, add olive oil, onion, and garlic. Cook until onions are soft and slightly translucent, about 5 mins. 
3. Add the white wine and water then bring to a low simmer. Continue to simmer for about 10 mins.
4. Add the butter and flour, stirring until completely combined and the sauce begins to thicken. 
5. Use a hand mixer to blend the onions and sauce until creamy. (If the sauce becomes to thick add more water, a 1/4 cup at a time, until you reach desired consistency)
6. Add salt and pepper to taste (I usually start off with 1/2 tsp of each to start with)
7. Add vegetables to sauce. Simmer for 5 mins. Take off heat.
8. In a large serving bowl combine linguinie and vegetables. Toss gently until the pasta is completely coated. 

* - This dish is also yummy along with some pan fried or grilled chicken breast. 
** - Also save the asparagus stalks for something else. All you have to do is blanch them and then put them in the freezer!

Hearty Vegetable Spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 3 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 small to medium zucchini, chopped (skinned if preferred)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 large mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp of salt
• 1 tbsp of pepper
• olive oil 
• 2 tbsp of Italian seasonings 
• 1 24oz of pasta sauce (I like to use Prego's traditional sauce for this one. I also don't use the whole jar, but some of you might like it a bit more saucier)
• 1 box of spaghetti 

Directions:

1. In a large skillet on medium heat, drizzle olive oil. 
2. Add carrots and onions. Mix until softened.
3. Drizzle a little more olive oil and then add garlic and zucchini. Mix until zucchini is softened. 
4. Drizzle a little more olive oil and then add mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Mix well until mushrooms are softened. Take off heat and set aside.
5. In a large sauce pan over medium heat pour half of the jar of pasta sauce. Add Italian seasonings. Simmer for about 5 mins. Lower heat.
6. Slowly start to add cooked vegetables. Once all the vegetables are in the sauce carefully stir in the rest of the pasta sauce. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 mins, occasionally stir. 
7. In a large serving bowl combine spaghetti and sauce. Gently incorporate vegetable sauce and spaghetti until fully coated.

Bon Apetito!

bake sale goodies

Hello lovelies!

Sorry to have kept you guys waiting with all the yumminess. I've been super busy with work, family matters, and thinking up some deliciousness. 

My bestest friend and roomie, Becca, is having a fundraiser thrown in her honor at her job, Old Town School of Folk Music, in Chicago, IL. It's gonna be a bake sale and they're calling it, Bake It For Becca! Fits her totally since she loves to eat (as do we all, hehehe). In case some of you don't know this, Becca was diagnosed with Colon Cancer at the tender age of 24. She's beat it before, and now that it's showed its ugly face again we all knjow that she can beat it again. I also know I already posted some fundraiser foods back in October (or was it November? Not too sure, but it was another fabulous fundraiser for Bec). I just came across some more throughout the recent months and want to share it with all of you. I know there's more, but I'll just have to post them here another day :)

Dulce De Leche Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. dulce de leche, plus more for filling (1 can)
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup sugar
1 large egg

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.  Stir with a fork to blend.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until soft and smooth.  Mix in the 6 tablespoons dulce de leche, and both the brown and white sugars.  Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the egg, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  (The mixture may look curdled - don't worry.)  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.

Spoon the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using a heaping teaspoon of dough for each cookie and leaving 2 inches between them.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking time.  The cookies should be a golden honey brown with a light crust, but they will still be soft.  Remove the cookies from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes.  Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.    Repeat with the remaining dough.

Once the cookies are completely cool, pair them up by size.  Spread the flat side of one cookie from each pair with a small amount of dulce de leche, and top with the other cookie.  Repeat with the remaining cookies.

*This cookie is quite chewy in texture. If you want a crisper cookie, leave in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes.


Amazing Blueberry Muffins
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cups of fresh blueberries (if out of season, use 1 1/2 cups of frozen blueberries)
•  
• Crumb Topping
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin/cupcake sheets with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Bon appetit!