TVP Meetballs and Swedish Meatball Pasta

makes about 20 balls

Ingredients
2 cups TVP granules
1 ¾ cups veggie broth (or 1 bouillon cube dissolved in water)
1 medium yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup vital wheat gluten flour
1 tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
½ tsp fresh cracked black pepper
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
Additional oil for frying

Directions
Reconstitute TVP granules by placing them in a microwave safe bowl, pouring the broth over the granules, covering tightly with plastic wrap and placing them in the microwave for 5-6 minutes. Alternatively, you can pour boiling broth over the dry granules, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. In a skillet, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent and fragrant. About 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat mix in the flour, Tamari and all of the spices. Let sit until cool enough to handle. With your hands, form balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Use a lot of pressure when forming your balls, tee-hee, you don’t want them to fall apart. Lightly fry them in a small amount of oil, rolling them around in the pan to brown on all sides.

Ingredients
1 prepared recipe of meetballs, above
1 pound of fettucine noodles, prepared in salted water according to package directions
1 8oz package of mushrooms (I buy mine pre-sliced!)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
1 cup soymilk
½ cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp white miso
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:
Prepare meetballs and set aside. While the pasta is boiling, prepare the mushroom sauce. In a heavy bottomed skillet, on medium-high heat, saute the mushrooms in the olive oil until the have reduced in size by half. Add the margarine and continue to saute a few more minutes. In a measuring cup, dissolve the cornstarch and flour into the water and soymilk. Dissolve until there are NO LUMPS! Add the miso and tamari to the skillet. Sprinkle in the onion and garlic powder. Slowly add in the flour mixture, stirring constantly and continue to simmer until you reach your desired thickness. Drain the pasta and mix sauce into the noodles. Top with the meetballs and serve warm.

Radiant Kale and Beet Pasta

Ingredients
(serves 2)
1 onion, diced
2 tsp olive oil
2 cups beets, peeled, and diced
4 cups lacinato kale (also called dinosaur kale), or other kale variety, roughly chopped
1 T. garlic, minced
1.5 T. freshly chopped dill
1 T. freshly chopped thyme
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
4 oz dry penne, rigatoni, or farfalle pasta
2 T. nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 cup cooked navy beans

Directions
In a large non-stick skillet, saute the onion in bit or whole of the olive oil for 3 minutes to soften. Add the beets and continue to saute the mixture an additional 7-8 minutes, or until the beets are crisp-tender. Add beans now or after kale is wilted depending upon how cooked beans are. Add the kale and garlic and saute an additional 3 minutes. Add the fresh herbs, salt, and pepper, continue to saute the mixture until the kale starts to wilt, and then remove the skillet from the heat. Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the penne pasta until al dente. Remove 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and set aside. Drain the penne pasta well and return it to the large pot. Add the reserved cooking liquid, remaining olive oil, and nutritional yeast, and toss well to thoroughly coat the cooked pasta. Add the sauteed vegetable mixture to the pasta, toss well, and watch the pasta turn a vibrant rosy color. Transfer the mixture to a large platter or bowl for service.

Walnut cottage cheese pasta

Ingredients
(serves 2)

1/4 cup toasted walnut pieces
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup dry pasta like rotini or penne ( 300 calorie or 4 oz equivalent)
1 large tomato, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/2 chopped red onion
1 zuchhini chopped (optional)
pepper, salt and bit hot sauce (or red chilli powder) acc to taste
1/2 T olive oil

Directions
Saute tomato and garlic. Add onions, cottage cheese, walnuts and pasta till cheese has melted.

Macaroni and un-Cheese with Tomatoes

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

3 cup dry Elbow Macaroni, whole wheat
6 Tomatoes, Roma
1 large Onion
2 cups White Beans
1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 Chipotle Pepper, optional for a spicy smoke flavor
bit of salt and pepper

Directions
Microwave oven or conventional oven at 350 degrees F can be used to prepare this dish. Wash, peel, and dice the onions and place in a large covered baking dish. Cook until the onions begin to become semi transparent (about 5 minutes in the microwave oven).
While the onions are cooking, place the water in the pasta pot and heat to boiling.
Wash the tomatoes and remove the stem ends and any blemishes or bad spots. Cut into bite-sized pieces, and add to the onions when they are cooked. Cover the baking dish and cook until the tomatoes are hot, but not cooked through. When the pasta water boils, add the elbow macaroni, and cook until the macaroni softens, but is still slightly chewy.
Open the cans of beans and drain off the excess liquid. Place the beans in the container of a high speed blender. Add the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and chipotle pepper (stem removed). Cover and run the blender at high speed until the ingredients are creamy smooth. Use the tamper rod as necessary. Combine the cooked and drained pasta and the bean sauce with the onions and tomatoes in the covered dish, and mix well. Cover and bake for about 10-15 minutes

Summer Pasta Salad

(Serves 1)

Ingredients,
1/4 green pepper
1/4 orange bell pepper
1/4 yellow pepper
1/4 red bell pepper
2 mushrooms (any kind that can be eaten raw)
1/2 cucumber deseeded
1/2 tomato desseded
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup of beans (garbanzo, navy or kidney beans)
1/2 cup of cooked pasta (like rigatoni or penne) and/or 50 grams feta cheese
Or any kind of vegetable that one can eat raw (maybe carrots)
Black pepper and salt acc to taste

Directions
Cut all the vegetables into equal sized ones. Mix all ingredients and let it sit in fridge for few minutes. Eat cold or warm in microwave.

Fettucine Alfredo

Ingredients

(serves 4 )

Fettuccine pasta 8 oz or ½ pound (about ½ Catelli box )

Alfredo Sauce

2 T butter

2 c heavy (whipping) cream

¼ c parmesan cheese, grated

1 t nutmeg

salt

Directions

Melt the butter over medium-high heat, add the cream, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium.Add cheese, nutmeg, and a dash of salt and boil, whisking frequently, until reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. Taste. If you don't notice a hint of sweetness, add another dash of nutmeg.
Pour sauce over cooked pasta, sprinkle with pepper and parsley, and serve hot.

The key to excellent Alfredo sauce is in the ingredients. Because this recipe is so simple, you need to use the very best cream and freshly-grated, high-quality parmesan cheese.

Variations

If you're worried about calories, you can use ½ and ½ or milk along with a T or two of flour instead of the cream, but the taste and consistency of the sauce will suffer for it.
You can also add peas and/or mushrooms.