Tuscan Gnocchi Bake

I love gnocchi.. this is not a secret to anyone who knows me. I also love olives  (especially kalamata olives!), spinach, sun dried tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and vegan cheese sauce that's extra garlicky.  This is my perfect dish. Creamy, salty, loaded with veggies and soft gnocchi.

This us my dream dish for you.. and it's EASY to make. 

Looking for more great vegan recipes? Try my Kale & Almond Pesto Pasta, Vegan Fajita Soup , Mushroom Egg Rolls , Mediterranean Hummus Pizza, Basic Marinara Sauce, and Chocolate Covered Cherry Cupcakes 

Recipe :

2 (17.5 oz) packagesof gnocchi 

1 bunch of fresh spinach 

1 large zucchini, chopped 

1 onion, chopped 

Italian seasoning 

3 Tbsp. Vegan butter 

3 Tbsp. Flour 

3 cups unsweetened plant milk

5 cloves of garlic, crushed 

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 (3 oz.) package of sun dried tomatoes*

1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped 

1 (8 oz.) Daiya mozzarella shreds**

1 cup panko breadcrumbs  (optional)

1/2 cup of vegan Parmesan  (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400°

2. Sautée onions and zucchini over medium heat with Italian seasoning until tender. Set aside. 

3. In a large skillet over medium heat,  melt butter and flour together to form a roux. Stir with whisk to prevent lumps. 

4. Once you have a blonde colored roux, add plant milk, crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to form your sauce. 

5. Whisk well as the sauce comes to a boil. This will prevent lumps.

6. Add your Cheese and allow to melt and become thickened.. about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. 

7. Pour your packages of gnocchi into an 11×13 casserole dish. 

8. Add fresh spinach, zucchini and onions, sun dried tomatoes, olives and your cheese sauce. Toss well.

9. Bake gnocchi for 20 minutes. If using breadcrumbs (see below), add to your gnocchi when there is 10 minutes left to cook. 

optional topping: 

1. In a small dish, mix panko breadcrumbs with Parmesan cheese. 

2. Pour breadcrumbs over gnocchi. 

Makes 4-6 servings.

* if you don't have sun dried tomatoes in your grocery store.. substitute 1 (15 oz) can of  petite diced tomatoes, drained well. 

** You can use any vegan mozzarella you enjoy. If you don't like processed vegan cheese, you can use 1/2 to 1 cup of nutritional yeast in its place.. adjust to your tastes. 

Kale & Almond Pesto Pasta

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The other day, my dear friend, Jennifer, gave me the last of her basil for the year. I wanted to  make a dish worthy of such a lovely gift. This is not you "normal" pesto with pine nuts. Pine nuts are very expensive & this blog is all about affordable family meals. I did a little experiment tonight & it turned out delicious!! I used sliced almonds  ($2 a bag vs. $13 for pine nuts). I added kale, fresh lemon juice and nutritional yeast for a nutritional blast of flavor and tossed in some fresh, colorful cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives. This was truly amazing and easy to make. It only took 20 minutes tonight for dinner!

Looking for more vegan recipes? Try my 3 Cheeze Baked Ziti Al Forno, Vegan Fried Chick'n & Gravy,  Italian Stuffed Eggplant, Roasted Tempeh with Whole Garlic Cloves, Baked Spinach & Artichoke Pasta, Sriracha Black Bean Burgers, & No Bake Banana Oreo Pudding Cups

Recipe:

3 cups fresh basil

1 cup fresh kale

1/3 cup nutritional yeast 

1/2 cup sliced almonds 

5 cloves garlic, crushed 

2/3 cup olive oil *

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 

2 tsp. salt

1 box of pasta**

3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved 

1 cup kalamata olives 

Method:

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain well. 

While pasta cooks, combine basil, kale, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, almonds and olive oil in a food processor on high. Process until smooth.

Toss pesto, tomatoes and olives with prepared pasta and serve.

Makes 4 - 5 servings. 

* You can use an avocado if you are oil free. 

** Use gluten-free pasta if you are gluten-free

Basic Marinara Sauce

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It's late into Summer and my Grandma just harvested some of her last tomatoes for the season. She gave me several tomatoes yesterday when I went to visit. Today I decided to take full advantage of those lovely tomatoes and make a marinara sauce. 

I will write this recipe two ways. If you don't have fresh tomatoes, or just don't have the time to steam and peel a bunch of tomatoes before dinner, I will write an option using canned crushed tomatoes too. There is nothing like making a fresh from the garden sauce, but I understand it's not always possible. Take the help & use the cans if you need it.. your family will not complain. It will still be more impressive than just dumping sauce from a jar.

Looking for more simple vegan recipes? Try my Easy Sunday Dinner , Red Beans & Rice, Chili & Cornbread Casserole, Portobella Philly & Cheeze, Hot Chili Ramen with Tofu & Veggies, Mediterranean Cucumber Salad & Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Recipe:

About 10 medium tomatoes, steamed, pealed and seeded to equal 4 cups of crushed tomatoes. (Or 4 cups of canned crushed tomatoes)

1/3 cup good olive oil

1 small onion, diced

5 cloves sliced garlic

1 handful of fresh basil, sliced into ribbons 

Salt & pepper to taste 

(*, ** see notes for variations) 

Method:

Heat oil and onion 

over medium heat in a deep sauce pan.

Cook onion until tender.

Add basil and garlic to oil.

Cook an additional 30 seconds, just until fragrant. 

Once you can smell the garlic, add your crushed tomatoes, salt & pepper. 

Reduce to simmer. 

Cover and cook over low heat while you prepare your pasta and garlic bread.

*For a smoother sauce, use a submersion blender (or pour into a  standard blender) and puree until smooth before serving. 

** For a thicker sauce, add tomato paste, a Tbsp. at a time until desired thickness. 

Makes 4-6 servings of sauce. 

Three Cheeze Baked Ziti

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This is a classic dish in our family. It is usually made with ricotta and ground beef topped with lots of cheese. This is my veganized version of this classic dish. It's just as hearty and delicious as the original & perfect for serving at family dinners because no will know it's vegan!

Looking for more great vegan pasta ideas? Try my Hearty Vegan Spaghetti, Kale Stuffed Eggplant Parm, Chipotle Mac-N-Cheeze with Smokey Lentils, Baked Spinach and Artichoke PAsta, Cheezy Butternut Macaroni, & Lemon Garlic Spaghetti with Tempeh

**Recipe**

Tofu ricotta :

1 (14 oz) tofu, do not press

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast 

4 cloves garlic, pressed 

3 Tbsp. Olive oil 

1 tsp. Italian seasoning 

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. lemon juice 

1/4 cup plant milk 

Beefless sauce:

1 (13 oz ) Gardein beefless crumbles *

1/2 tsp garlic powder 

1/2 tsp onion powder 

1 tsp cumin 

Olive oil 

32 oz. Pasta sauce 

1 (16oz ) ziti pasta

Cheddar and mozzarella style vegan cheese 

**Method**

Preheat oven to 400°.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta. Boil about 8 minutes. (Pasta should be slightly under cooked). Drain well. 

Cook beefless crumbles, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin with a little olive oil over medium high heat until browned. 

Reduce heat to low.

Stir sauce into the beefless crumbles. 

Cover your sauce and simmer while you make your "ricotta".

Combine all ingredients for tofu ricotta in in a mixibg bowl. Smash and mix together well, until smooth. 

Pour beefless sauce and ricotta over pasta. Mix well. 

Pour into a greased 11x13 casserole dish. Top with vegan cheeses. Bake 25 minutes. 

Makes 6 servings 

Our Anniversary Dinner

This is not a recipe, but a way of saying "Thank You" to a wonderful chef for making our anniversary wonderful. This is the Trip Advisor Review I published. I want to share it with all of you to show you eating Vegan is not restrictive on your social life. This is how you make sure your vegan meal at a non vegan restaurant is perfect. You have to plan ahead, yes, but it is worth it to get treatment and a meal like the one we had for our anniversary.....

"Last night was our 22nd anniversary. My husband called ahead to request a vegan meal for me and spoke with the Owner/Chef, Curt personally. He told my husband, he was more than happy to create a custom meal for me on our anniversary. He was so pleasant and professional to my husband, that he booked a reservation. 

We arrived and were greeted immediately by our server ( I wish I remembered to write down her name because she was wonderful!) with fresh bread and a tomato sauce ( both were vegan). She made a nice suggestion for a pinot noir, so we ordered a bottle. When the wine arrived, she presented it nicely & we were both very happy with her suggestion. The atmosphere was relaxed, like being in an Italian friend's home, not just a restaurant. People were laughing, having conversations and Curt was visiting tables to make sure everyone enjoyed their meals. We felt welcomed from start to finish at Curt's.

Curt had asked my husband what I liked before we arrived, so he had arranged a meal for us based on our tastes. I didn't even have to try to figure out the menu, like I usually have to do at other restaurants. We had a nice salad to start with, and then our meal arrived. Curt came out to explain his creation and make sure that we were happy with the meal. It was BEAUTIFUL and perfect! He made a gnocchi with several different olives, artichokes and veggies in a sweet basil sauce. He is truly a gifted Chef and all around great guy, you can tell this by the way he runs his business and the food he presents. He made sure we were enjoying our meals and even took a few minutes to talk with us and wish us a happy anniversary. The food was so good, we ate in silence. We just savored the experience, food and wine, as you should when you are given such a wonderful night out.

After our meal, Curt came back to check on us and let us know he would love to cook more meals for us in the future. We will be taking him up on his offer. We have found a new perfect date night location.

Curt made our anniversary perfect. His food was a gift to us & I want to publicly thank him for going out of his way on a Saturday night to care for us like family."

Stuffed Eggplant "Parm"

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If I had to choose a "signature dish" that my husband gets excited over more than any other, my stuffed eggplant is the hands down winner. This dish takes a little more time and love than some of my other dishes, but it will impress even the most hardcore omnivore at dinner time. Get ready to be impressive!

Looking for more impressive Vegan dishes? Try my Sriracha Roasted Tofu with Rainbow Veggies, Award Winning Vegan Chili, BBQ Tempeh over Southwestern Cauliflower rice, and finish the meal with my Vegan S'Mores Pie

Stuffed Eggplant Parm:

1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4" slices
3 Tbsp aquafaba (the liquid from canned chic peas!)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup corn meal
1/8 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup plant milk
Salt & pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. onion power
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 1/4 cups panko bread crumbs
1 large bunch fresh kale, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 small orange bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
Oil
1 recipe  Perfect Marinara Sauce
Vegan mozzarella cheese
1 lb. prepared angel hair pasta

Place eggplant slices on a wire rack over the sink. Salt heavily and allow to sit at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°

Prepare pasta as directed on package. Set aside.

To make your "wet" batter - mix aquafaba, milk, flour, cornmeal, nutritional yeast, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/4 tsp.oregano, 1/4 tsp.onion powder, 1/4 tsp. basil, salt & pepper to taste. Whisk together until smooth in a shallow bowl.

In another shallow dish, mix bread crumbs, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. onion powder, 1/4 tsp. oregano, 1/4 tsp. dried basil, salt & pepper.

Add about 1/2" of oil to a heavy skillet and allow to heat up over medium heat.

Check on your eggplant. Eggplant will be covered in bitter liquid and salt, rinse extremely well. Pat completely dry. 

Dip each slice of eggplant into the wet batter and then into the bread crumbs mixture.

Check to make sure oil is ready by splashing a drop of water into the pan. If it sizzles, it's ready.

Fry each slice in the oil until golden brown on each side. Allow to dry on a paper towel lined plate.

Cook kale, peppers, and onions in a non stick skillet over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook an additional 3-4 minutes. 

Coat the bottom of an 11 x 13 casserole dish with marinara sauce.

Match up eggplant slices that are similar sizes. Place one slice from each pair on top of sauce.

Top each slice with kale mixture and sprinkle generously with vegan mozzarella.

Top kale with matching eggplant slices.

Top each stuffed eggplant slice with marinara sauce and more vegan mozzarella cheese. Bake 20 minutes.

Serve with a side of angel hair pasta.

Makes 4-5 servings.