For a pasta dish with a difference why not try this Vegetarian Orzo

Makes: 3+ Servings

Ingredients:

16 Oz Orzo (or other pasta)
2 Vidalia Onions - Diced
2 1/2 Cups Vegetable Broth
2 Baby Eggplant - Diced
2 Zucchinis - Diced Thinly
1 Bag Shredded Cheese (Your Choice)

Directions:

1. Boil water. Add orzo. Cook until finished.
2. Add vegetable broth to a saucepan. Mix in vegetables
& saute until soft.
3. Drain orzo. Mix w/ Vegetables.
4. Continue to cook.
5. Melt cheese over the top.
6. Serve!

Vegetable Lasagne makes a tasty non meat alternative to a traditional beef lasagne, ideal for those evening meals with guests to entertain.

Makes: 5+ Servings

Ingredients:

2 Boxes of Lasagne Noodles
5 Egg Whites
4 Lbs Of Ricotta Cheese
2 Cups Spinach - Steamed
5 Chopped White Mushrooms
3 Zuchinni - Sliced Thinly
1 28 Oz Can Of Tomatoes - Diced or Crushed
8 Cloves Of Garlic - Crushed
1 Small Yellow Onion - Diced
1/4 Cup Parsley
Fresh Basil - Chopped
Pinch Of Salt
Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Add onion, garlic, basil, tomatoes, and parsley to a bowl.
Mix well. Saute on a low flame.
2. Boil lasagne noodles.
3. Add sauce to bottom of lasagne pan & spread.
4. Layer noodles over sauce.
5. Alternate layers of vegetables, sauce, and noodles.
6. Put sauce and mushrooms on the top layer over the
last layer of noodles.
7. Put in oven and cook at 375 degress until noodles
are soft.
8. Allow time for cooling.
9. Serve!

Make your own delicious vegetarian Masala Vermicelli

Makes: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

4 Cups Vermicelli - 2 cups
8 Cups Water
5 Peppers (any color)
2 Cups Peas
1 Cup Chopped Onion
Salt (desired amount)
1 Tablespoon Ginger Paste
2 Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Garlic - Crushed
5 Tablespoons Oil

Directions:

1) Boil water in a pot. Add vermicelli & salt.
2) Add remaining ingredients to pan & stir fry.
3) Strain most of the water out of the vermicelli.
4) Combine ingredients in pot & simmer on a low flame for 7 minutes.
5) Serve!

Don’t have time? Use store bought ready-made pasta sauce.
Have a bit of time? Use the ingredients and steps below to make excellent sauce from scratch!

Ingredients

To make the sauce
· 1 tsp olive oil
· ? cup onion, chopped
· 1 clove garlic, minced
· 1 14-ounce can tomatoes, chopped
· 2 tbsp tomato paste
· ½ tsp dried basil, crushed
· ¼ tsp sugar
· Pinch of salt
· Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

To make the pasta rolls
· 8 dried lasagne noodles
· 2 tsp snipped fresh basil, crushed
· ¾ cup fat-free ricotta cheese
· ½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
· 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, finely shredded
· 1 egg white, slightly beaten
· 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
· Parsley, to garnish

1. Heat oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat. Once oil is hot add chopped onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until slightly browned and tender. Gradually pour in chopped tomato while stirring. Add in tomato paste, basil, sugar, sugar, salt and pepper; Stir until well combined. Bring heat up to medium-high and allow mixture to come to a boil; once boiling bring heat back down. Allow sauce to simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. While sauce is simmering prepare pasta following package directions. Once noodles are tender transfer into a colander; drain well. Set aside.
3. Combine chopped basil, ricotta, mozzarella and ricotta cheese together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Pour in egg white and spinach; mix together until well combined.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lay noodles down side by side onto a clean flat surface. Using a spoon, evenly spread ¼ cup of the cheese and spinach mixture onto each noodle and starting at one end, roll each noodle into a cylinder. Place rolls, seam side down into a non-stick ovenproof pan and place into the oven and bake for around 25 minutes.
5. Once noodle rolls have heated through divide onto separate serving plates and top with sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 4

            

Stored in the fridge in an airtight container it will keep for 2-3 days.
 
Ingredients
 
·        ½ cup small pasta shells
·        ½ tbsp light olive oil
·        ½ small onion, minced
·        1 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
·        1 medium celery stalk, diced
·        3 cups prepared vegetable broth
·        ½ small zucchini, finely diced
·        1 plum tomato, finely diced
·        ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
·        1 really good handful of spinach leaves,
     stemmed and shredded      
·        ½ tbsp minced fresh dill or ½ tsp dried
·        Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
 
1.     Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Cook until soft then drain them.
2.     While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil over medium heat in a soup pot. Add the onion, carrots and celery and sauté until the turn a golden colour.
3.     Add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, and peas; cover pot. Allow soup to gently simmer until the vegetables are just done which should take about 10 minutes.
4.     Add the spinach and fresh or dry dill and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat when the greens have started to wilt. Add the pasta shells and add salt and pepper to taste.
5.     Remove the lid to the pot and allow the soup to stand for 30 minutes or so, off of the heat. Serve warm.
 
Serves 2-4

 

The important thing to remember when cooking with noodles is to fully drain the noodles after cooking them. The worse thing to do is serve a meal that tastes almost watered down because the noodles weren’t properly drained.

 
Ingredients
 
·        ½ tbsp coarse salt
·        ½ eight-ounce package soba or other thin wheat noodles
·        ½ cup Coconut Peanut Sauce (recipe follows)
·        1 package firm silken tofu
·        ⅛ cup soy sauce
·        ⅛ cup mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
·        1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
·        6 radishes, sliced paper thin
·        4 ounces jícama, peeled, cut into 1-inch-long matchsticks
·        ½ cup sprouts
 
1.     Fill a large pot with water and salt; bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, add soba noodles and cook until ready. Remove noodles into a large sieve and rinse with cold water until completely cool. Drain well.
2.     Take a large bowl and place noodles inside. Drizzle on peanut sauce until noodles are fully coated. Set aside.
3.     Cut tofu into 8 pieces and put two slices on each serving plate. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, mirin, and ginger. With a large spoon, drizzle soy mixture over tofu. Evenly place noodles on plates and top with radishes, jícama and sprouts.
 
Serves 4

Udon noodles can be found at Asian food markets and in most large super markets.
 
Ingredients
 
·        1 cup boiling water
·        1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
·        6 ounces udon noodles
·        2 egg whites
·        1 egg
·        2 tsp canola oil
·        2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
·        3 cloves garlic, mined
·        2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
·        ½ tsp red chili, seeds and membranes removed, finely chopped (optional)
·        1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
·        2 cups sugar snap peas, tips removed and halved
·        ¼ cup light teriyaki sauce
 
1.     Place mushrooms into a small bowl and pour boiling water over top; and set aside for 20 minutes, covered. Once mushrooms have properly soaked, set aside ½ cup of the water and drain mushrooms thoroughly using a colander or sieve. Make sure to squeeze out any excess liquid.
2.     In a separate small bowl whisk together egg whites and whole egg. Pour 1 tbsp of the canola and 1 tbsp of the sesame oil into a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once oil has heated pour egg mixture into the pan making sure that the egg covers the whole bottom. Without stirring, cook the omelette for 2 to 3 minutes. Once cooked, carefully transfer omelette onto a cutting board and slice into 2 inch strips. Cover and set aside.
3.     Using the same skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Once oil has heated add mushrooms, minced garlic and red chili pepper, if using; cook for 1 minute, stirring consistently. Pour in red pepper strips and peas and cook for another 2 minutes or so.
4.     Once red peppers become crisp pour in the reserved water (from the mushrooms) and teriyaki sauce. Turn heat up and allow mixture to come to a boil. Once boiling, remove lid and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Turn heat down to keep mixture from burning while making noodles.
5.     Meanwhile, following the package directions cook udon noodles in boiling water until tender. Once done transfer into a colander and drain properly. Divide noodles into serving dishes and top with egg strips and vegetable stir-fry. Serve immediately.
 
Serves 4

A great way to get this meal done faster is by putting the pasta in water to boil before you start the sauce, this way by the time you have finished the sauce, the noodles will be done too. If you like your food really spicy, add a whole hot red pepper, instead of only â…”.
 
Stored in the fridge in a sealed container, it will keep for up to 1 day.

 
Ingredients
 
·        1 head garlic
·        1 sweet red bell pepper
·        ⅔ of a hot red pepper
·        ¼ cup olive oil
·        Salt, to taste
·        7 oz long pasta noodles
·        Freshly ground pepper, to taste
 
1.     Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, peel the skin off of the garlic and separate cloves. Using a small sharp knife, cut the garlic cloves into thin slices. Set aside.
2.     Halve both the red bell pepper and the hot pepper. Remove seeds and membranes and cut into dice. Place a skillet over medium high heat and pour in olive oil. Once oil has heated, place in diced peppers and stir. Cook until the peppers have softened, which shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes.
3.     Add in garlic and turn heat down to medium-low. Stir the garlic and peppers together until garlic caramelizes, which shouldn’t take longer than 12 minutes.
4.     Sprinkle in a couple large pinches of salt to the boiling water; add in noodles. Cook noodles until al dente, then pour into a colander to drain. Mix into skillet with garlic and peppers and season with freshly ground pepper. Allow mixture to sit for a few minutes, covered. 
5.     Divide onto serving plates and serve.
 
Serves 2