Spaghetti with Lentil Vegetable Sauce
You won’t miss the meat in this spaghetti! This recipe is so easy to make AND it is hearty and delicious!
I was looking for something easy to make last weekend and spaghetti was something I kind of gave up when I stopped eating meat. A thin little tomato sauce with spaghetti just doesn’t cut it. But then it occurred to me that lentils might be an excellent way to create a more hearty sauce–and so it was!! 🙂
We had a little trauma at our house last week. Our kitten Alex ate a couple of foam ear plugs. Uuugh! We have to keep everything away from our little kittens or they get into it. Anyway after a traumatic couple of days with Alex at the animal hospital under observation we were able to bring him home. And boy was he happy to be home! 🙂
But back to the spaghetti!
Here’s what you’ll need:
1 pkg whole wheat spaghetti
2 26 oz jars low sodium pasta sauce
3/4 cup dried lentils
1 diced red bell pepper
1 diced yellow bell pepper
1 pkg of mushrooms diced
Handful of diced carrots
Oregano to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
Fresh chopped basil to taste
Pre-cook lentils according to package directions and set aside. Chop carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms and put them in a large pot with the sauce. Add oregano and red pepper flakes to taste–cook on medium until veggies are cooked.
Boil the pasta in a separate pot. You’ll know it’s ready when you throw a piece against the wall and it sticks! Or you can taste it. 🙂 Drain and rinse the pasta.
Once the veggies have cooked down, add the lentils and fresh basil. Mix together until lentils are heated through.
Serve sauce over the spaghetti and top with parmesan cheese if you wish. It is also excellent without it.
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15-Bean Chili
So at the grocery store recently I came across this package of 15 bean soup mix. It was such a great looking mix of beans that I knew I had to make something with it. The mix includes the following types of beans; Northern, Pinto, Large Lima, Blackeye, Garbanzo, Baby Lima, Green Split, Kidney, Cranberry, Small White, Pink, Small Red, Yellow Split, Lentil, Navy, White Kidney, Black Bean.For whatever reason I wasn’t inspired to make soup with it, but ended up creating a new chili recipe out of it.
So here is my invention. This chili is hearty and flavorful. The more cayenne you add the more kick it will have. It would probably also be good with a few red pepper flakes.
The recipe I started with was for White Beans with Prosciutto and Tomato Sauce, but what I ended up with was quite different. I hope you like it.I think this chili would go great in tacos so stay tuned for a future post! 🙂 It would also go very nicely in a taco salad.
Here’s what you’ll need:
20 oz (1 lb 4 oz) mixed dry beans (15 bean soup mix minus the flavor packet)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup diced carrot
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (low sodium)
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
Shake of cayenne pepper to taste
These are the beans I found at the grocery store that inspired this recipe.
Soak the beans overnight. Drain and rinse.
Place the beans in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil on medium until beans are soft – 30-45 minutes.
In a separate pot cook the onions, garlic, celery, carrots, peppers in olive oil over medium heat until they are softened.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, corn, water, chili powder, cumin, oregano and cayenne pepper.Mix together and bring to a boil.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them to the vegetables.
Serve with your favorite toppings, on it’s own, or in tacos or a taco salad!
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Oatmeal Waffles with Bananas and Blueberries
Happy Saturday! What better way to start the day than with waffles, blueberries, bananas, and Canadian maple syrup! A Saturday morning made in heaven! 🙂
It’s a winter wonderland in Kansas City today. Still lots of snow here and snowdrifts along the sides of the roads–like I remember from my childhood in Montreal. Perfect for building snowmen and very cool snow forts!
I adapted this recipe from the Urban Peasant‘s recipe for Oatmeal Flapjacks. He used more rolled oats and less flour and I just found them to be just a little too heavy. So I’ve adjusted them to provide a good dose of those cholesterol busting rolled oats without the heaviness. I’ve noticed in other waffle recipes they often like to include sugar, but when you’re going to pour maple syrup over top of them I’m not sure sugar is really necessary and therefore do not include it in this recipe.
If you don’t eat them all in one sitting just throw them in the freezer and they can be toasted in the toaster later!
Makes approx. 4 servings.
Here’s what you’ll need:
1 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
Mix together all dry ingredients.
Add eggs and milk and mix together well.
Pour onto hot griddle and cook until golden brown.
Serve with berries, bananas and maple syrup!
Veggie Yogi 