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!