Rainbow Orzo Pasta Salad (vegan)
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This salad is quick & easy, healthy, super-fresh, kid-friendly, and best of all (of course), tastes delish! Perfect for a warm Summer (or Spring that feels like Summer) evening!
Ingredients:
1 box of orzo pasta
1/2 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (the more color, the better - we only used one, but could have done with a second)
1 bunch of asparagus, lightly steamed (cooked just enough to tenderize, but not lose crispness - 3 min in the microwave did it for us)
1 cucumber (seedless if possible), chopped
1/2 cup of italian dressing (whatever dressing you love the best!)
salt & pepper to taste
Other things you could add to expand the rainbow… carrots! celery! corn! peas! tomatoes!
Preparation:
Put the pasta on to boil. While it's going, steam the asparagus - but remember to go light; you still want it to have a crispness to it. Chop the veggies (the kids helped with this). When the pasta is ready, drain & immediately cool with cold water. Drain completely. Transfer to a bowl & add veggies (more kid help!), pour over the dressing, add salt & pepper, stir (even more kid help!), and then… enjoy!
This keeps well in the fridge for a few days; watch the cukes for softness, otherwise, all the other veggies hold up well.
(I know this isn't a grea photo, but I had to add it - just for the GUSTO with which this boy stirs the pasta!)
Kelly's Vegetarian Mediterranean Pasta
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This was an experiment that turned out quite yummy, so I'm sharing! I don't have a recipe, per se… I just threw together some things that looked good. You'll have to fiddle with the quantities per your own taste, but here are the ingredients I used & what I did with them:
Box of whole wheat penne pasta
Bunch of fresh asparagus, chopped
Bunch of fresh basil, chopped
Jar of marinated artichokes, sliced/chunked
Green pitted olives, sliced
Fresh mozzarella
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic
Salt & Pepper
Put pasta on to boil. Sautéed the asparagus with olive oil, garlic, salt, & pepper - til tender but crisp - remove from heat sooner rather than later.
While those two things were happening, I chopped the basil, added it to an 8th (maybe) cup of EVOO, along with the chunked artichokes and sliced olives.
I drained the pasta, added it to the asparagus, then mixed in the EVOO/artichoke/olive combo.
Right before I was about to serve, I added the mozzarella - I didn't want them to melt. I served with garlic bread & everyone was very happy with the results!
English Muffin Pizza Recipe
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So what do you do when you have hungry kids, not much time, and a lot of stale english muffins? Make english muffin pizzas, of course!
These are super-easy & fun for small hands to help make. We had so much fun, in fact, that I forgot to take photos of the preparation phase! There’s plenty to do for all levels of skill – splitting the muffins, slicing veggies, spooning sauce, sprinkling cheese, shaking on spices. Makes a perfect, quick, vegetarian lunch or dinner!
Ingredients:
Stale English Muffins (or fresh… but seriously, if you have fresh, just toast & enjoy with butter & jam, as they are meant to be enjoyed!)
Your favorite tomato sauce
Shredded mozzarella (or vegan mozzarella) cheese
Sliced veggies for toppings (we only made cheese this time, but you can add peppers, tomatos, onions, mushrooms, artichokes, olives... get creative!)
Garlic powder, black pepper, & oregano
Preparation:
Cut english muffins in half & place on a pizza pan or other surface which allows air to circulate beneath the muffins – if you like crispier crust pizza. [Note: We don’t have a pizza pan, so I baked ours on a cookie “cooling rack” which was set on a cookie sheet. You can also crumple aluminum foil, then uncrumple & line a pan (the wrinkles allow air to flow underneath)] If you like your pizza with softer crust, you can bake directly on a cookie sheet. Spoon 1 – 2 Tbs of sauce onto each muffin – spreading it out almost to the edge. Add veggies or other toppings. Top each with mozzarella cheese – remember to keep the cheese towards the middle of the muffin as it will melt & spread! Shake on garlic, pepper, and oregano to taste. Bake at 450 F for ~10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly & pizzas are browning lightly on the edges & top. Remove & allow to cool for a few minutes. Then… enjoy!
Vegan Strawberry Cream Smoothie
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Two days ago, we went cherry & strawberry picking! The cherries were gone within 24 hours - we ate every last delicious one of them! The strawberries, however, being small & at the end of the season, were not so tasty. As of this morning, they were ready to either be made into a smoothie, or tossed out to the woods for the squirrels. We decided to go for a smoothie - and I'm glad we did! Here's the super-simple, healthy recipe I threw together. It turned out so yummy, the kids asked for MORE! Too bad we were out of strawberries!
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of fresh Strawberries
10oz of Coconut Milk (we used vanilla-flavored)
Ice
PREPARATION:
Put the ingredients into a blender and blend well! Serve immediately & ENJOY! This recipe made approximately 2 8oz servings.
PS: I'm sure you could add whatever fruits - or even veggies - that suit your fancy & this would still taste delicious. The sugar in the vanilla coconut milk added just enough sweetness to the smoothie, though I'm sure you could add a bit of agave nectar or honey if you like it sweeter. I found the richness of the coconut milk made the smoothie just the right creamy consistency - but I'm sure yogurt or whole milk would work well too, if you prefer dairy. Please let me know if you make this smoothie & end up adding anything to it. We'll definitely be making this one again in the future & I'm always open to suggestions!