Baked Rigatoni with Kale & Sausage

The weather has cooled off some and I'm ready for some Fall-ish casseroles. The kale is plentiful at my local market and I had 1 bunch of curly and 1 bunch of Lacianto so I used them both. You can use whatever type you have and even substitute chard or spinach. As always use whatever pasta shape you have on hand but one with nice ridges helps hold the sauce on the noodle.

• 1/4 cup water
• 4 Field Roast Italian sausages, sliced
• 2 bunches kale, (see above) ribs removed and leaves chopped
• 1 pound rigatoni (see above)
• 2 tablespoons vegan margarine
• 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups vegan milk
• 4 ounces Daiya Jalapeno Havarti block cheese, grated
• 1/2 packed cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in liquid)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (to sprinkle on top)

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. To boiling water, add kale and cook until just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer kale to a colander and set aside to drain. 

Using the same water you cooked the kale in cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

Cook sausage until brown, breaking it up some as it cooks; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. In the same skillet you cooked the sausage in, melt butter on medium-low. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute, until fragrant. Gradually whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in 1 cup milk. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer, whisking frequently, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Slowly whisk in remaining 3 cups milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking frequently, for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add cheese and whisk until melted and mixture thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat.

Using the pot that cooked the kale and pasta, dump in all of the ingredients. Add salt and pepper, stir to combine.

Transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Top with nutritional yeast. 

Bake until cheese melts and sauce bubbles, 20 to 30 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. 

Enjoy with a side salad, bread and glass of vino.

Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

Everyone loves a good burger and a good pizza, in this case I combined the two. This is not your healthy vegan recipe, it's party time, football time, get your game on food! If you aren't vegan feel free to put your bacon and your ground beef and your cheese on here. It's that damned good.

• 1 tube Pillsbury Original Pizza Crust
• 1 jar pizza sauce
• 1 package vegan bacon tempeh
• 1 package Boca veggie ground crumbles
• hamburger pickles slices
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 1/2 sliced red onion
• Daiya mozzarella cheese shreds
• Daiya cheddar style shreds

Cook the bacon according to the package directions, set aside.

Brown the ground crumbles, according to package directions.

Roll the pizza dough out, according to package directions. Get the oven preheating to required temperature.

Spread pizza sauce over dough.

Top the sauce with chopped vegan bacon.

Add the crumbles.

Spread red onion around.

Top with a layer of both cheeses.

Layer roma slices, I placed in the center of each piece I was planning on cutting.

Bake according to package directions for crust.

Move the cooked pizza to a cutting board.

Place a pickle slice on each piece of pizza.

Eat it all up.

Chicken and Dumplings (Vegan)

This is comfort food at it's finest. I've made this recipe at least 3 times in the last month. My daughter loved these dumplings, she said they had flavor and most are just doughy. I just loved the thickness and savory flavors of this dish. I saw this recipe over at Brand New Vegan and made a few twists using the ingredients I had on hand.

Broth

• 1 package Beyond Meat, Chicken-Free Strips, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 3 garlic clove, minced
• 8 baby potatoes, diced (about 2-3 cups)
• 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 4 cups Better Than Bouillon vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Dumplings

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1-1/2 cups almond milk, unsweetened

Saute onion and garlic in a couple tablespoons water until softened.

Add carrot, celery, and potatoes and cook until softened.

Add mushrooms and spices and cook until softened.

Add chicken-less strips, broth, bay leaf and vinegar and bring to a boil.

Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, parsley, and salt. Stir in almond milk until a batter is formed.

Slowly drop in spoonfuls of batter, as many dumplings as you want.

Cover pot and simmer 15 minutes or until dumplings are done.

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

I sure wish I had discovered roasted cauliflower years ago. We love it roasted in the oven, on the grill, with and without tons of garlic, turned into soups and added to mashed potatoes. Here's a basic roasted cauliflower with lots of garlic served as a side dish to Gardein Chick'n Crispy Tenders and loaded baked potato.

• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 Vidalia onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup nooch

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss cauliflower, onions, kosher salt, olive oil and garlic in a Ziploc bag.

Spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes, tossing once. Sprinkle nooch over cauliflower and bake for an additional 5 minutes. 

If desired, broil for one minute to achieve golden brown color.

Enjoy!!