Garden Spaghetti

This is one of my favorite and most used vegan go-tos.  It has all of the components of a healthy meal and it's fast.  Not to mention it's ITALIAN!  Have I mentioned I'm nuts over Italian food?  This takes about 30 minutes total, including prep and cook time.  It's so easy, I make sure to always have these ingredients in my frig.  This is low fat and lovely ;)

(GF) To make this gluten free:  Make sure your marinara is gluten/wheat free (or make your own with tomato sauce and herbs) and also use a gluten free pasta like Tinkyada rice noodles.

Ingredients:

1 yellow squash chopped

1 zucchini chopped

1 handful of baby spinach, about a tightly packed cup (or chopped regular size spinach)

1/2 of a large onion chopped (purple is awesome, but it doesn't matter)

1 crate of sliced mushrooms (baby portobellos is what I like best)

1 jar of your favorite meat-less marinara or tomato sauce ( I like Barilla brand, it's kosher)

Dash of salt

Dash of italian seasoning (optional)

1.5 small boxes (or bags) of spaghetti ( I prefer using vermicelli, because it's super thin)

5 or 6 sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

Directions:

~Wash and chop your vegetables

~Start your water for the pasta (use package directions, including salt) in a large pot

~Place your vegetables in a NON-STICK frying pan (this eliminates the need for water or oil), if you're using an old fryer, you'll want to spray it with oil, or use about a tablespoon of olive oil to saute your vegetables

~Saute veggies with a dash of salt and italian seasoning on medium heat until soft (about 10 minutes). Sometimes I forget to use the salt and the seasonings, and it still turns out great.  You'll want to stir the veggies around every few minutes to make sure they're not sticking or burning

~Once soft, pour your marinara over your veggies, and heat on medium low.  If your marinara starts bubbling and popping, it's too high.  You just want to warm the sauce, not boil it.

~While the sauce is warming, throw your pasta into the boiling water you started

~Now just watch both until sauce is nice and warm or hot, and noodles are tender

~Drain noodles

Place noodles on a plate, and top with warm veggies sauce

This easily serves a family of 4, with a little left over.

Great served with a fresh salad and garlic bread

**sometimes I mix a couple of tablespoons of my famous Cashew Cheese into the noodles after draining them.  Cheesy veggie sgetti!

Vegan Cream Cheese Danish!!!

So, I was having a super rough week, and by Friday, I was so mad at the world that I just wanted to eat something really naughty and go to bed.  Luscious cream cheese is what I wanted, with dough, and lots of sugar!  I open my facebook to scoff at everything (in total hate mode) and what do I find?  An unbelievably naughty Cream Cheese Danish recipe.  Yowsah.... this danish hits the spot.  It is the real deal, but not really!  So without further ado, I give you the Cream Cheese Danish, Veganized.

This danish is very full, as you can see from the picture!  You could always half the filling ingredients to make it less full, or you could use half and make a strawberry filling (1 cup) of blended strawberries and a little agave or stevia and water, and make a swirl before adding the top layer of crescent roll.  I'll try that next time I have a bad week ;)  And yes, this dessert is horribly unhealthy because of the sugar... but sometimes, you just gotta give yourself a break.  Okay, maybe you don't, but on this day, I did!

Ingredients:2 cans ready to use refrigerated crescent rolls

2 8-ounce packages Toffutti vegan cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg replacement (Ener G egg replacer is what I used) You can also use 1 Tbs. ground flaxseed and 2 Tbs water mixed

1 Tbs water in the bowl where your egg replacement was mixed

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons almond or soy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350* degrees and grease a 13X9-inch baking pan. Lay a pack of crescent rolls in the pan and pinch the openings together. Beat the vegan cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and mixed egg replacer together until smooth. Spread the mixture over the crescent rolls evenly and then lay the second pack of crescent rolls on top of the cheese mixture and brush a tablespoon of water that you mixed with the remnant of the egg replacer that was left in the bowl (this replaces egg white). Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Top with glaze after cooling for 20 minutes.