alfredo scampi pasta bake - dump dinner

 

Overview

Time: 45 minutes
Dishes: large pot or 9x13 baking pan

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

I know this says 45 minutes but this is technically a Dump Dinner, so you can prep this meatless, vegetarian and vegan dish in 5 minutes flat. You add the pasta and broth. Top with vegetables and beans. Add some flavoring, like garlic and lemon zest and bake! 

Once it is baked add some nondairy milk and vegan cheese, if you want, and this is ready for the table. It was super fast and easy and it was really good! I used broccolini and cauliflower, but zucchini, carrots or green beans should work great, as well.

The scampi-ness is thanks to the lemon zest and nondairy milk and the Alfredo part is because of the milk and vegan cheese, if you use it. I used Follow Your Heart parmesan shreds, but the Violife would be great, too , or regular vegan white shreds - or no cheese at all.  

No fuss dinner that hardly needs prep, plus it tastes good. 

On a weeknight, that covers my bases.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• It's a Dump Dinner - so not much to it!
• Layer the pasta, broth, vegetables, beans, zest, garlic and salt.
• Bake.
• Finish with the nondairy milk and vegan cheese and bake to heat and melt.
• Serve!

 

(Printer-friendly doesn't seem to be so friendly. Just select the text between the arrows (including the white space to add margin on the top), right -click, select Print, and now it's printer-friendly.)

Alfredo Scampi Pasta Bake

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Makes 4 servings 

moderate

Preheat oven to 425-F

1. Pasta: Add the pasta to an oiled 9X13-inch baking pan (or equivalent). Spread evenly. Pour the broth over the pasta. 

12 ounces rotini pasta (or equivalent)

4 cups vegetable broth

2. Vegetables: Spread the vegetables and beans evenly over the Pasta.  Sprinkle with garlic, lemon zest, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Cover tightly with foil or lid and bake for 30 minutes.

3 cups chopped vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, pepper)

2 cups (an 15-ounce can) white beans, rinsed

2 teaspoons minced garlic

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)

3. Cheese: Add the milk to the Pasta. Add the optional cheese. Return to the oven (uncovered) and bake until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes. Serve. 

1 cup nondairy milk

1 cup vegan shredded white or Parmesan-style cheese (optional)

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pint It!

creamy lemon pasta with cripsy lentils

Overview

Time: 30 minutes
Dishes: medium pot, large pasta, air-fryer

Heads Up! lemon and lentils

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

How about a little sunshine as the sun begins to recede to winter? Lemon is a fall/winter crop, so this is actually a perfect meatless, vegetarian and vegan dish for this time of year. This is lemony but nothing overwhelming, and it is creamy and delicious. The crispy lentils give it a nice contrast. Together they provide protein, iron and Vitamin C. All good things!

Make sure to zest your lemon before you juice it to save headache later. To zest, I just used a peeler and made sure to only get the yellow part of the fruit and not the white pith, which is bitter. Then I used a knife to mince the peels. 

The juice is added to the cooked and drained pasta so it absorbs the flavor perfectly. 

If you want (I would have but I didn't have any at the time) add 8 ounces of baby spinach to the pasta water a minute before you drain it, for some leafy green action. 

I air-fried the lentils, which proving to be very effective at making it crispy, but take care not to overdo it. I accidentally left them in the fryer for 15 minutes and they became a bit too crispy. Eight to thirteen minutes should suffice, but keep an eye on them and use your judgement.

All in all, an easy dish to prepare that was fast and tasty. 

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Start the water for the pasta first. The water needs to boil and the pasta will take about 10 minutes to cook. 
• Drain the lentils while the air-fryer preheats. 
• Cut the onion first, start cooking it. Then peel and mince the zest. Garlic can come last.
• Use a lid for all pots.
• Always zest before you juice the citrus.

 

Creamy Lemon Pasta with Crispy Lentils

Makes 4 servings 

easy

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Preheat air-fryer to 400-F

1. Pasta: Cook the pasta in a medium pot of salted boiling water, until   al dente. Drain the pasta, return to the pot and add the lemon juice. Stir well; the pasta will absorb the juice:

12 ounces fettuccine or spaghetti

2 tablespoons lemon juice (zest lemon first) **

2. Lentils: Rinse and drain the lentils. Add to the basket of an air-fryer and season with salt. Cook until crisp but not dried out, about 8 to 12 minutes:

1 (15-ounce) can green or brown lentils

3. Onions: Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and lemon zest. Cover with a lid and cook until the onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Stir as needed.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 lemon zested**

4. Sauce: add the flour to the Onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the milk and stir until there are no lumps. Add the rest of the milk and the cheese, if using, and simmer until thickened, about 3 minutes. needed.

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups plain, unsweetened nondairy milk

2 slices or 1/4 cup shredded vegan cheese (optional)

5. Serve: Add the Sauce to the Pasta and season with black pepper. Toss well and divide into bowls. Top with Lentils and serve.  

** 1 lemon. Use a peeler to peel zest very thin, not peeling any white pith. Then mince the zest strips. Then juice the lemon.

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pin it!

creamy vodka sauce pasta

Overview

Time: 30 minutes
Dishes: medium pot, pot for pasta, immersion blender, stand or personal blender 

Heads Up! Nut milk bag and almonds 

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

This is a family favorite, for sure.  It is a meatless, vegetarian and vegan dish. The creamy tomato sauce over a hearty pasta is pretty terrific and I would classify this as a comfort food. 

I also classified this as easy, but there is a caveat: the nut milk must be made fresh. No processed milk will do this justice, or thicken. Freshly made nut milk thickens as it is heated and gives this sauce amazing body. 

This is the nut milk bag I recommend HERE. It is cotton and leaves all nut meal in the bag.

When you strain the milk, twist the top closed and strain right into the sauce (unless this is your very first time - then strain into a bowl to avoid burning yourself). 

With the top twisted closed, start twisting more, as the bag starts releasing the milk. You can massage the bag so you don't tear it with all the pressure. Once you do this a few times, I promise it gets very easy and intuitive. Think: massage and twist. 

And that right there is the most difficult part of the recipe. I used jarred pasta sauce here because it was more economical at the time. In essence, I doctored it. You can use pasta sauce already prepared, or use canned/jarred whole or diced tomatoes. 

When using whole or diced tomatoes, you don't need a lid, but with sauce that is already blended, use a lid ajar, otherwise sauce will splatter everywhere.

Once the nut milk is added, you simmer it until it thickens. Well worth the forage into the skills of nut milking.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Start the water for the pasta first. The water needs to boil and the pasta will take about 10 minutes to cook.
• Then start the sauce. 
• While the sauce cooks, blend the nuts. Strain it into a bowl if this is your first time doing this; it'll avoid mishaps and give you plenty of time to learn to press milk through a bag.

 

Creamy Vodka Sauce Pasta

Makes 4 servings 

easy

Serve with baked tofu and/or garlicky greens

1. Pasta: Cook the pasta in a medium pot of salted boiling water, until   al dente. Drain the pasta:

12 ounces pasta (rigatoni is good)

2. Sauce: Add the ingredients to a medium pot and cook over medium heat, 15 minutes:

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 (28-ounce) can diced or whole tomatoes

1/2 cup vodka (optional)

3. Use an immersion blender to blend the Sauce.

4. Cream: Blend the nuts and water very well. Strain the Cream using a nut milk bag. Strain right into the Sauce. Compost the nut meal.  

1/2 cup raw almonds

3/4 cups water

5. Return Sauce to a simmer to thicken, about 5 minutes, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

6. Serve: Serve the Sauce with the Pasta.  

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pin it!

hungarian paprika potato pasta

Overview

Time: 40 minutes
Dishes: skillet, medium pot, shallow pan, air-fryer or oven

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

My kids love this meatless, vegetarian and vegan recipe and it really is very delicious. This dish is called March of the Grenadiers, but because I'm still not quite sure why (except that legend has it that the soldiers marched across the countryside collecting ingredients and then came up with this meal based on what they could obtain), I renamed it to something that makes some sort of sense.

This is traditionally pan fried in plenty of fat and it can take forever! With an air-fryer, this takes about 5 to 10 minutes, sans all the fat. I used an oil sprayer and if you have a refillable one, add a few tablespoons of water to get it to mist. It really works!

If no air-fryer, add to a sheet pan and bake it until it is as crisp as you like it. Before the air-fryer my kids had me baking it for about 20 minutes, but they like the pasta extra crispy. Air-fry portions at a time to get it crispy enough. This will depend on the size of your pan that fits in the air-fryer. I did mine in two batches.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Put the water on for the pasta first since flat pasta can take up to 10 minutes to cook. 
• Take care adding the paprika. Have your water ready to add to avoid burning it.
• Peel the potatoes while the onions are cooking.
• Chop the tomato and pepper after the potatoes are in the pan.

 

Hungarian Paprika Potato Pasta

Makes 4 servings 

moderate 

Preheat air-fryer to 400-F or oven to 450-F

1. Pasta: Cook the pasta in a medium pot of salted boiling water, until   al dente. Drain well and return to the pot:

8 ounces flat pasta (bowtie, shell, broken lasagna)

2. Base: Cook in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, with a lid, until golden brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. Stir often:

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

3. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the paprika. Stir very well and add the water. Do not burn the paprika or it will be bitter.

2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika

2 cups water

4. Potatoes: Add the potatoes, tomato, bell pepper and salt to the Base. Stir very well, cover and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes:

1 pound potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 small pepper (bell or Hungarian), chopped

1 teaspoon salt

5. Fry: Coarsely mash the Potatoes with the cooking liquid. Add the Potatoes to the drained Pasta. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add the mixture to a shallow pan that fits in the air-fryer or on a baking sheet for the oven. Spray with oil. Bake until the pasta is as crisp as you like it, about 5 to 10 minutes. Serve. 

Spray oil

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

butternut squash and crispy kale noodle salad

Overview

Time: 35 minutes
Dishes: medium pot with lid, air-fryer, measuring cup, salad spinner

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

If the thought of peeling and chopping a butternut squash strikes fear in your heart, join the club. The winter squash is indeed intimidating, but with a few tips, maybe you can give it a chance:

1) Use a peeler to peel the squash - the first pass, just remove the outer skin and then make a second pass to peel until you see orange.

2) Treat the squash as two separate entitites - the neck portion is easy eanough, it is the seed portion that offers trouble. cut the squash in two - the neck portion and the seed portion. 

3) The neck: cut off the stem part and then cut into 1/2-inch slices and then cut the slices into 1/2-inch pieces and then into 1/2-inch  dice.

4) The seed portion: cut the bottom off and then cut off 1/2-inch slices from the bulb, going around the outside of the seed section. Do not cut it in half because then you have to deal with the seeds - instead, cut off slices from the bulb-seed portion and then discard the entire seed bulb when done.

Back to this meatless, vegetarian and vegan recipe: truth be told, this is for a confidant palate, but the flavors are awesome and the textures are unique. The dressing is slightly sweet and spicy (use 1/2 grated fresh garlic if avoiding any spice), but has no oil. The fresh ginger and roasted peanuts tie the whole thing together. It sounds like a lot is going on - but I had this on the table in 35 minutes, including chopping that squash from scratch.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Put the water on for the pasta before grabbing the ingredients.
• Use a lid while heating the water.
• Preheat the air-fryer.
• Peel and chop the squash into 1/2-inch pieces. Take the time here to avoid an extra 15 minutes of baking.
• Make the dressing while the squash and pasta cook.
• Add the beans to the pasta water, right before you drain it, to heat the beans to allow them to absorb some of the flavors of the dressing. 

 

Butternut Squash and Crispy Kale Noodle Salad

Makes 4 servings 

moderate

Preheat air-fryer to 400-F or oven to 450-F

1. Pasta: Cook the pasta in a medium pot of salted boiling water, until   al dente. Add the beans right before draining the pasta. Add 1 tablespoon of Dressing to Pasta after draining.

4 ounces spaghetti

1 cup white beans

2. Squash: Peel and chop the squash. Spray with oil and season with salt, add to air-fryer. Cook for 13 minutes or until almost tender.

1 medium butternut squash (4 cups, 1/2-inch cubed)

3. Dressing: mix the dressing in a measuring cup. Stir until sugar dissolves: 

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon tamari

1 teaspoon sambal oelek

1 tablespoon sugar

1-inch ginger, grated

4. Kale: add the kale to the Squash. Spray with oil and season with salt. Cook for 7 more minutes:

1 bunch kale, tough stem removed and chopped

5. Peanuts: add the peanuts and garlic to the Squash (remove any kale that is getting too dark). Cook for 3 more minutes. 

1/2 cup peanuts

3 garlic cloves, minced

6. Salad: Remove the large crispy Kale pieces to the side. Add the Squash mixture to the Pasta. Mix with a tablespoon of Dressing. Serve the Squash-Pasta mixture over the greens, sprinkle with the green onions and the reserved crispy Kale. Serve with the rest of the Dressing.

6 cups chopped lettuce

2 green onions, minced

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

dan dan noodles

Overview

Time: 30 minutes
Dishes: medium pot with lid, large skillet, measuring cup

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

Full disclosure: bump this meatless, vegetarian, and vegan recipe to a "moderate" if you add the stir-fry vegetables (from frozen is perfectly fine). I made this as a copy-cat recipe from PF Chang's, who make this without the vegetables, but I find adding them makes this dish even better; besides - vegetables are always great by me.

The sauce is sweet and just a bit spicy (unless you cannot have spice - as always, make the dish to suite your taste). This is best with tofu, but use seitan or Gardein with equal success. Mince the protein pretty well (check out the picture) because texture influences flavor.

Use a lid to heat the water for the pasta to get this meal on the table quickly - even with the added work of the vegetables, 30 minutes is all the time you'll be spending in the kitchen - unless you eat there, as well. 

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Put the water on for the pasta before grabbing the ingredients.
• Use a lid while heating the water.
• Grab the vegetables and thaw in water (unless already thawed). 
• Squeeze the excess water from the vegetables before cooking.
• Chop the green onions while the protein cooks and the water heats.
• Prepare the sauce while the pasta cooks (unless you had time already).
• Chop the protein while the green onions cook.

 

Dan Dan Noodles

Makes 4 servings 

easy

1. Pasta: Cook the pasta in a medium pot of salted boiling water, until   al dente. Drain and use the pot for the Sauce:

12 ounces thin spaghetti

2. Protein: Cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat, with a lid:

1 teaspoon olive oil

16 ounces tofu, sliced or 4 Gardein scallopini

3. Remove from the skillet and set aside to cool. Once cool, mince.

4. Cooking Sauce: mix all the ingredients in a large measuring cup until sugar dissolves. Set aside. 

1 1/3 cups vegetable broth

1/3 cup tamari

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons garlic-chili sauce

2 tablespoons cornstarch

5. Dan Dan Sauce: using the medium pot from the pasta, heat over medium-heat and add: 

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

5 green onions, minced

6. When golden (do not burn), add the Cooking Sauce (stir the sauce first) and the minced Protein. Cook until thickened, about 3 minutes.

7. Stir Fry Vegetables (optional): Heat the large skillet from the Protein step over medium-high heat and cook until tender:

1 teaspoon olive oil

3 cups stir-fry vegetables (if frozen, thaw first)

8. Serve: Add cooked Pasta to a bowl, top with Stir Fry Vegetables (if using) and Dan Dan Sauce. 

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.