Day 41: Not-So Lazy Rigatoni (Meatless Monday Meals)

So far, Meatless Mondays have been a huge hit around here. And I think I've discovered the secret (especially if your SO is a carnivore): Pasta. And cheese. And veggies. 

But mostly pasta & cheese.

Baked Spinach Rigatoni

This one was more labor intensive than initially supposed, but I knew it would be. And it is so, SO worth it.

Ingredient Roundup:
*Spinach
*Rigatoni pasta
*Ricotta cheese
*Mushrooms
*Italian blend cheese (Mozz and Parm)

You're gonna need a food processor for this. Just a heads up. Thankfully, I've had one for a while that is apparently going to get more use after this.

First, you're going to want to get a pot of water on to boil the pasta. Whole grain pasta, if you're lucky enough to find it will make you feel less guilty overall about the dish.

Meanwhile, you're going to want to thaw and squeeze your spinach (if you're using frozen, as I did). Trust me. It's easier than using fresh.

Those little squeezed balls of spinachy goodness go into as-yet-unnamed the food processor. Perhaps I shall call it Patrick.

And you will add TO that spinach, the ricotta cheese and about half of the Italian blend cheese. Also? Salt & Pepper, although I tend to season after something like this has been whirred around.

Pulse it (with the lid on!) until it's all mixed and creamy looking.

Seriously. This stuff would be amazing as a simple ravioli filling.

Dump it out into a bowl.

I decided there was a distinct need for moar veggies in the dish, so I went with the standby staple 'round these parts: Mushrooms. Our fave gourmet blend.

As I didn't want to spend forever chopping these down into tiny bits, I just put them into Patrick and let him do all the work.

Voila! Insta-chopped 'shrooms, no effort required. Seriously a time saver. -->

It was about then that I fell in love with my FP all over again.

It all goes together in a bowl, to which you add the fresh cooked hot pasta when it is done.

Mix the whole shebang up and pour into a casserole dish.

Top it with the remaining IB cheese you've got sitting there and let it cook for about 15 minutes or so, at 450 degrees in the oven.

Really, that's all there is to it. It's a deceptively easy looking recipe. The hard work is in all the prep.

When it's done, the cheese should be all golden brown and crispy; the pasta, bubbly.

Scoop it into a bowl and devour. Because really, it's divine!

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress

Day 27: Mushroom Madness! (Meatless Monday Meal)

Another Meatless Monday is upon us! And this time, I'm taking full advantage of it and making something I've been *dying* to make for dinner. Main feature? Mushrooms!

Mushroom Stroganoff

Ingredient Roundup: 

* Mushrooms! (I used both baby bellas and Portobello here)

* Whole wheat egg noodles

* Soy Sauce

* Veggie stock

* 1/2 an onion

* Sour cream

And then there's my new ingredient, because I didn't want to go with just plain white flour. -->

I've had this oat flour for a bit and didn't know what to do with it. Thought I'd give it a spin in this recipe and damn, am I glad I did.

The other new ingredient is that package of portobello 'shrooms up there. They sell this thing at Ghetto-F-C and it's basically just a huge 'shroom, with minced garlic and thyme. I figured that since the recipe called for both garlic and fresh parsley, I'd use this and sub the thyme in. So. Glad. I did.

First things first, Marvin gets down to business.

I've actually had this onion since last Monday, sealed up all nice n' tight in the fridge. I'm glad I kept it because it lent a really great flavor to the dish.

Thin slices with Marvin. Because for whatever reason, they just seem to cook better.

Into the pan they went, along with just a touch of olive oil to get them going. Cooked them until they were translucent and golden.

The garlic and thyme joined the onions and I let them get all warmed up and fragrant.

And then I added the mushrooms. I swear, I slaughtered an entire village of 'shrooms for this dish. I kept the chop on these relatively chunky, as you can see, because I wanted there to be some substance to the sauce.

In the absence of meat, you have to have *something* in there for mouth feel, right? (Dragon does, at least.)

Meanwhile...get your water boiling for the noodles and pop those bad boys in there to cook while you saute down the 'shroomage.

Now's where things get interesting.

Once all the veggies are cooked, you add the veggie stock and let it come to a light simmer. Then? The oat flour and the sour cream.

It doesn't take a lot of either to thicken up and make that sauce creamy. And man... was it freakin' tasty.

It had to be. Dragon despises mushrooms. *cheeky grin* But he ate it because he knows I like them, and found himself MORE than pleasantly surprised at how good this was.

At the end of it all, sauce is spooned over noodles and a light dusting of Dill, just for color and a bright element to the meal.

It was seriously good eats. Even for Mr. Mushroom hater. He hoovered the hell out of his portion while I savored mine a bit longer, but with no less enjoyment.

And just to keep him on the happier side of things, to make him feel better about "suffering" through a meatless mushroom dish, I grabbed a bottle of something we'd had in our fridge for a while, just begging to be consumed...

... and it TOO was delicious.

Pretty sure the name of the ale sums up our verdict about this Meatless Monday dish.

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress