White bean and Artichoke heart pasta with homemade Cashew Cheese( vegan, GF, DF)

Holy moly this one is a keeper!!! ;-)  So we were running a little low on stuff in the cupboards the other night.  I had a can of white beans and of course a can of artichoke hearts.  I was CRAVING pasta.  I just bought a can of this amazing tomato basil sauce from new season.  It is all natural with only a few ingredients which always makes me happy.  No crap in this sauce ;-)  Any ways, I couldn't wrap my brain around that all these flavors would taste good together lol....  Sooo i googled, white bean and artichoke pasta.  Tons of links pop up, that was enough for me.  Went back to the kitchen and this is what I came up with.  You have to try it, it really is tasty. :-)



Ingredients:

:  One box of Gluten free elbow pasta
:  1/2 of a lemon
:  Palm of parsley
:  Palm of oregano
:  Can of artichoke hearts in water ( not the seasoned kind)
:  one can of white beans
:  pinch of salt
:  one big jar of tomato basil sauce





Cook pasta per box instructions.

While pasta is cooking in a large pan combine sauce, parsley, oregano, juice from 1/2 a lemon, chopped artichoke hearts, rinsed white beans, and salt. Mix all together and cook on med/low heat for about 15 minutes.




Once pasta in cooked add noodles to sauce and mix together.  Turn heat to simmer and cover pan. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes stirring every few minutes or so.  This helps sauce bind to the noodles better.



Now for the Cashew Cheese.  I have seen this done a few times and really wanted to try it myself. So here is my recipe for cashew cheese.  I only had 1 cup of raw cashews left, I would have made a lot more if we had more nuts ;-)  The hubby LOVED it, and it is soooo easy.  Gotta love a Raw vegan cheese.

:  1 Cup raw cashews
:  1/2 cup Hot water
:  garlic
:  salt
:  evoo

In a food processor or good blender, grind up cashews till it looks like powder.  Add Hot water and blend together. I didnt measure the next ones ( sorry Kathy, lol) add a pinch of salt, maybe 1 T Evoo, and garlic to taste.  Blend together until a smooth texture is created.

This taste a lot like alfredo sauce.  Crazy right?!?!



Next time, I am going to try to make more of this and do a Vegan Mac & Cheese.
Oh how we miss Mac & Cheese on a cold day ;-)



ENJOY!!!

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom. ( vegan, GF, DF)

So I had some cooked Quinoa and Two big Portobello mushrooms, and left over sun dried tomatoes in the fridge that needed to get used up asap. This is what I came up with ;-)



Ingredients:

:  2 Portobello mushrooms
:  Extra Virgin Olive Oil
:  1 clove garlic
:  A palm full of fresh chopped parsley
:  1/3 Cup pine nuts
:  1/3 Cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
:  1 1/2 Cups Veg broth
:  1/3 Cup water chestnuts ( chop into little bits)
:  3 cups cooked Quinoa


First you will need to scrap all the black stuff out of the mushrooms with a spoon.  This will give  more room for the stuffing.  Drizzle mushrooms with EVOO and bake on cooking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.



If you don't have left over Quinoa like I did, then you may need to take an extra step and cook that first
;-) You could also cook the Quinoa in the broth with all the goodies.  Just bring to a low boil turn heat down and simmer until Quinoa is cooked.

In a large frying pan drizzle bottom of pan with the EVOO, saute pine nuts and chopped garlic.  Cook until a nice light golden brown.



Once it looks like above add vegetable broth, parsley, chopped sun dried tomatoes, chopped water chestnuts, and Quinoa.



Add mix to mushrooms. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.



Yummo!!! Enjoy...

Lemon Basil Chicken (Gluten & Dairy Free)

Yummy!!! Love the flavors in this one ;-)  I had some basil and wine left over from super-bowl that needed to get used up, so this is what I created.  For all you vegans our there, just minus the chicken and use the Quinoa with everything else as a side dish. The citrus flavor is soooo good, didn't want you to miss it.

Lemon Basil Chicken


: Extra virgin olive oil
: 2 chicken breast
: Gluten free flour ( Quinoa flour is what I used)
: 1 T Earth Balance
: 4 T Chopped Basil
: 1/3 Cup fresh Lemon Juice
: 1 1/2 Cups Chx or Veg Broth
: 4 T White wine
: 1 Cup Quinoa
: Salt to taste

Cut chicken into little pieces and lightly coat with flour.  Saute Chicken in olive oil on medium heat. Lightly brown both sides of chicken.  Once lightly browned add to pan Earth Balance, broth, chopped basil, lemon juice, and wine. Stir until everything is mixed together.




Turn heat to low, add Quinoa. Make sure Quinoa is nicely settled into the liquid ;-)
Cover and cook until quinoa and chicken are cooked and liquid is absorbed. about 15-20 minutes.



All Done ;-)



Simple and Easy, but lots of flavor!!!

Quick note- The broccoli...  We love to bake it.  I use the baby broccoli, they have really long stems and not so full tops.  place on cooking sheet, drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I bake them at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  They get a little crunchy. Try them you might be surprised that you actually like Broccoli.  

ENJOY!!!