Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Balsamic Kale and Tomato Pasta

by Filed Under: Beans, Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Pantry, Pasta, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free

This week I’ve been working more days, still restricted hours, but early- I mean EARLY mornings. I’m running on fumes at this point and I needed a quick and easy dinner. This came together in under 15 minutes flat, protein and fiber packed…. and oh so good!

Ingredients:

1 box of lentil pasta (I used fusilli but any short pasta will work)
5-7 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbl of dried Italian seasoning OR I used a palmful of fresh oregano and thyme leaves roughly chopped
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1/2 cup of good balsamic vinegar
1 cup of frozen spinach or kale
Red pepper flakes

Method:

Cook the pasta according to package directions in salty water. Drain and set aside.

Into a skillet, add a glug or two of olive oil and get that heated up. Add garlic and the herbs. Stir often and cook for 2 minutes or so. Add tomatoes, greens and vinegar. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then add drained pasta. Stir to coat and reheat the noodles. I added a pinch of red pepper flakes but that’s optional. Fresh basil would also be perfection. Serve with a nice crusty bread.

Options: If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, sun-dried would be lovely.
You can use regular pasta and add 1 can of cannelloni beans for protein/fiber.
Artichokes (jarred or canned) would also be lovely in this dish.
Cooked mushrooms would be great!
Use what you have on hand and roasted leftover veggies would be a great addition.

~ox

— Knead to Cook

Vegan Skillet Sausage Peppers and Roasted Potatoes

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free

It’s definitely comfort food time. Once a week I seem to gravitate to making this skillet for dinner. My dad, who lives with us, is not vegan although eats vegan 95% of the time, loves this dish so I indulge. Then the leftovers are repurposed with some Just Egg sheets for an sausage & egg sandwich for breakfast or lunch. It’s also great toss with pasta. Versatility is key. Plus when cleaning out your fridge, its a great way to use up onions and peppers you have on hand.

Let’s get to it!

Ingredients:

1 package of Beyond Meat sausage (I prefer the spicy)
1 to 2 yellow onions roughly chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2-3 bell peppers, any colors
1 tablespoons of fennel seeds
3-4 Yukon potatoes, cubed
Olive oil

Method:

First, I begin by roasting my potatoes in a 350 degree oven on a baking sheet. I simply put my potatoes on a baking sheet and spray with olive oil. Toss around and bake until golden brown for about 35-45 minutes – tossing occasionally.


After the potatoes have cooked, remove and set aside. Let the oven on.

Into a cast iron skillet, add your onion and peppers and sauce until cooked down and the onions start to brown. Add your chopped garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Then add you fennel seeds. Cook for another minute or so. Add your sausage, cut however you prefer. Cook until golden over low/medium heat. This normally takes 10-12 minutes, stirring often.


Once cooked through add your potatoes into your skillet and stir well. Place the skillet into your oven for 10 minutes.



Serve immediately & enjoy!



— Knead to Cook

Air Fried Crispy Brussel Sprouts. Vegan and Gluten free.

by Filed Under: Air Fried, Appetizers, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations

Hellllllllooooo! Yes, I know. I’ve abandoned my blog. However, as I’ve shared in the past I do have another job (just hit my 1 year anniversary there) and every other week is full-time for me so that leaves me pretty much no spare time for blogging. Now that I’m a bit more into a schedule, I’m committing to blogging every other week a new recipe. Fingers crossed I can maintain that. 🙂

So these… Bill got an air fryer for father’s day and although we’ve been terribly reluctant to purchase another kitchen gadget, this one has been awesome. Its not huge, fits nicely on the counter and we’ve been loving it for tofu and veggies!

This recipe, like most of mine, is super easy and quite flavorful. You can easily bake in the oven if you don’t have an air fryer too.

This is the link for the air fryer we have and recommend.

Ingredients:
1 lb of Brussel sprouts trimmed and halved or quartered if they’re large.
1/4 cup of a good quality aged balsamic vinegar
1 tbl of oil (I used olive oil but any other neutral oil will work)
1 tbl of a quality Dijon mustard
1 tsp of maple syrup

Method:
Into a bowl, whisk your balsamic, oil, Dijon and syrup until blended. Add your trimmed Brussel sprouts and toss to coat. I allowed them to marinade a bit in the sauce for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your air fryer to 375 degrees. Once ready, spoon the Brussel sprouts out and into the basket. Close and set the timer on the air fryer for 10 minutes. At that point, toss them around, then return for another 8-10 minutes or until crispy and perfect.

If you are baking, add the Brussel sprouts to a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven (375 degrees) for 20-30 minutes, tossing occasionally, and remove when crispy brown edges are evident.

Remove and place on a platter. I drizzled a bit more balsamic over the top and sprinkle with parsley. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoy and try this recipe out. If you do, please leave a comment/review for me.


— Knead to Cook

Hearty Vegan Vegetable Sausage Soup. GF.

by Filed Under: Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Pasta, Soups, Vegan, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Chilly Sundays are for soup in my house.  Finally, today I was off from work & embraced my day off.  I started with an early gym session and then home to walk the pups.  From there I spent hours working away on roasted veggies, this soup, a pumpkin coffee cake I found here and some spicy tofu I’ll be sharing this week as well.

This recipe is super forgiving and quite easy. 

Ingredients:

1 package of vegan/gf sausage or brats – I used Beyond Meat
1 tbl olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 large carrots, sliced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1- 28 oz can of chopped tomatoes or tomato sauce
32 ounces of vegetable stock or broth
2 tbl of Italian seasonings
Salt and pepper

Method:

Add your oil of choice to a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium flame.  Once hot, add your vegan sausage.  Cook until browned on the exterior for about 6-8 minutes.  Remove once browned and slice into bite-sized pieces, set aside.

Into your hot pan add your garlic, carrots, celery and bell peppers.  Cook until the veggies release their liquid and soften a bit – this may take about 8 minutes or so.  Once tender, add your tomatoes, stock and seasonings.  Cover and allow to cook for 30 minutes.  Taste to adjust salt and pepper.  Add your sausage back in for at least 5-7 minutes. Serve over a small pasta or rice (what we used), with some crusty bread or crackers.  

Enjoy! 


— Knead to Cook

Italian marinara with sausage. Quick and easy! Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Pasta, Sauces, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 1 Comment

Looking for a super easy, cheat Italian sauce/gravy/marinara sauce recipe on the fly?  Look no further.  This is my oh crap I have no dinner ready and what can I make fast so everyone will be happy?  I started working in May (outside of the house) and juggling my schedule/dinner/life has been a struggle on some days, I will not lie.  Despite this being super easy, I wanted to share because let’s face it… we all need a quick go-to that will impress your family while saving you a ton of time.  Let’s get started!

[Read more…]

— Knead to Cook

The easiest vegan pesto sauce. Gluten free.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Dips, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday, Italian-inspired, Party Foods, Raw, Sauces, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

This recipe is so easy. Pesto is one of our favorite sauces to make because we grow so much basil in our garden.  Pesto is perfect in lieu of marinara sauce on pasta or on pizza crust.  It’s also great on new potatoes in a salad, drizzled on roasted veggies or as a condiment on a sandwich or panini.  So versatile and unbelievably easy to make.

If you’re new to cooking… try this recipe out.  Seriously.  We also use this as a dip for raw veggies.  Plus with no dairy, it’s a great summer bbq recipe idea.  I can go on and on… but I won’t.  Take the recipe amounts as mere guide.  I typically do handfuls versus cups.  I do want to share this tip before I get into the specific recipe… when using this as a sauce on pasta, reserve some cooking liquid from the noodles.  Once you’ve drained the noodles, add the pesto to toss along with 2-3 tbl of the cooking water to thin the sauce out.  That’s it folk.  Love you, enjoy!

[Read more…]

— Knead to Cook

Green Pea Ricotta Spread on Baguette. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Appetizers, Brunch, Cheese, Easter, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Holiday, Italian-inspired, Party Foods, Side dish, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 5 Comments

Green pea ricotta spread.  Vegan.  Gluten free.

Happy Monday friends.  I hope your mother’s day weekend was incredibly fun, food-filled and joyous.  This weekend we hosted Kira’s friends for her 17th birthday party.  Then after a trip to the gym early Sunday, we went to Philly for brunch and shopping.  It was the best.  My heart was filled along with my stomach.

I’ve been recreating a bunch of old Lucy Activewear recipes that were lost since they merged with North Face.  This is a big favorite for summer, outdoor dining with friends.  Easy and prep-ahead!  It’s light and filling.  Great appetizer or side for dinner or soup.  Great for parties too!  All of the ingredients can be found at Whole Foods or local specialty food markets.  Vegan and gluten free!

[Read more…]

— Knead to Cook

Easy Lentil “Meatballs”. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Fitness., Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Lentils, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

Happy Tuesday my friends!  Okay we survived Monday & that folks, we will call a win.  Actually my Monday was very productive.  We came off a spring cleaning, doing all the projects we didn’t want to do, feeling super duper productive so Monday was a bit of a continuation.  I’ve been cleaning out cabinets, drawers and it truly astonishes me that amount of things we accumulate.  I’m now, at 46, in this phase of my life where I want to downsize, get rid of everything and live a very minimalist life.  Truly.  I’m done with all the things.  But we have a few years to go before that happens so I continue to donate, sell, or clean out my possessions.

Last week I made these yummy “meat”balls out of some frozen lentils and they were so good.  I teamed them up with this stew I made a few days prior, added rice… and we had a meal!  They’re great on hoagie or sub rolls and in a lovely marinara sauce with your favorite pasta.  I also was caught eating them cold out of the fridge.  Yes, they’re that good.

[Read more…]

— Knead to Cook

Lemon Basil Creamy Pasta Sauce. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Easter, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday, Italian-inspired, Nuts, Pasta, Sauces, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Lemon Basil Creamy Pasta. Vegan and gluten free.  I originally created this recipe during the spring last year for Lucy Activewear but since they’ve transitioned over to North Face, and the posted recipes have been removed, I’m adding them back to my website so they’re still available for you.

This pasta dish would be perfect for your spring brunches, girls lunches, family dinner or for your Easter celebration.  This sauce is so easy to make plus the creamy texture comes from cashews, soaked, versus heavy cream.  The sauce has a lovely cheese-based flavor thanks to the nutritional yeast, tartness from the fresh lemon juice with a tangy flavor from the Dijon.  Then for an extra punch of flavor I added some fresh basil leaves, which also adds to the brightness to the dish.  This sauce can be prepared ahead of time to save time and just topped on your freshly cooked pasta.  I prefer wide noodle pastas for this substantial sauce. Bon appétit friends.

[Read more…]

— Knead to Cook

Beefless Vegetable Soup. Vegan.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Pasta, Soups, Stocks/Broths, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations 2 Comments


Happy November!  It’s crazy that we’re kicking off the holiday season already.  Emails are starting with holiday gift guides and Thanksgiving menus are floating through my head.  Not to mention, we have 2 months left in 2017!  Wow.  It’s been quite a ride this year to say the least.

I love the cooler temperatures of fall, as long as winter holds off.  With the nip in the air, I’m all about warm, comforting foods.  This is one of our favorites.  A spin on the classic beef and vegetable, this is made with a vegan beefless crumble and fooled my hardcore, non vegan father.  He even remarked how good it was… so good.
It’s protein packed and is the perfect way to clean out your veggie bin.  This recipe is super flexible so go with the flow.  Taste and adjust the seasoning and enjoy.  This soup also freezes beautifully.
[Read more…]

— Knead to Cook