Rigatoni with Mushrooms and Vegan Sausage

This is a wonderfully quick and delicious meal that’s hearty and packed full of healthy protein. A comfort meal of pasta, cremini mushrooms, and vegan sausage that’s nutritious, simple, and fast; I think your entire family will absolutely love the creamy goodness in this dinner! We hope you’ll add this dish to your weeknight rotation.

*sigh* I aim for one recipe per week and wind up making it to about one per month! It’s not ideal, I know, but it’s hard work, with a wee man running around, to get the adequate time needed to recipe develop, create and make a recipe, do the photography, then write up a post. It seems simple enough, and it is (albeit there is a lot of toil that goes into making a post) but it just takes so much darn time.

It’s a great joy to be able to cook and write and share it all with you. However, now that Todd and I have a little family, I prioritize my free time with them; whether it’s skiing on the weekend with friends or just simply chillin’ inside by the fire reading and playing with stuffed animals. We actually cook and bake a lot, but Oliver loves to help and there isn’t a lot of measuring happening and we really just wing things together. Messily and quickly. It’s not super kosher for sharing recipes here on Produce On Parade.

While I try to navigate dedicating time to this space but not sacrificing time with family and friends, I want to thank you for being so patient. You’re all so wonderful; I love hearing from you, especially those of you who have been here since the beginning six years ago. It blows my mind it’s been six years already. Thank you guys! Happy Valentine’s Day to your loves, your friends, your family <3 Love makes you want to stay. Love is a day full of hugs. Love is cheers when you get home.

Bear with me today, I’m on Tamiflu (I don’t have the flu, but opted to take it prophylactically due to work exposure) and it really makes it difficult to concentrate. I think I’ve spent about 20 minutes trying to write one paragraph!

Rigatoni with Mushrooms and Vegan Sausage

By Kathleen Henry - Produce On Parade

This is a wonderfully quick and delicious meal that’s hearty and packed full of healthy protein. A comfort meal of pasta, cremini mushrooms, and vegan sausage that’s nutritious, simple, and fast; I think your entire family will absolutely love the creamy goodness in this dinner! We hope you’ll add this dish to your weeknight rotation.

Ingredients

• 1 lb dry rigatoni pasta (or pasta of choice)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 3 whole garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14 oz) package of Lightlife Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage
• 12 oz fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 ¾ cup unsweetened, plain soymilk
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp salt, to taste
• Dash of white pepper (black pepper will work)
• Dash of shiitake mushroom powder (optional)
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions


1. Over high heat, bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Cook according to package until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large rimmed frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for about 3 minutes then add the sausage, breaking it into bite size pieces with a wooden spatula. Add the mushrooms; saute an additional 5-8 minutes, until the mushrooms have darkened and shrunk.
3. Whisk the nutritional yeast through the mushroom powder into the soymilk and stir into the mushroom mixture over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes; while deglazing the pan. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in cooked pasta. Serve hot, topped with fresh parsley.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 5 servings

Vegan Asian Meatballs

We used to make these all the time when I was a kid. I’m now thrilled to be able to eat them once again, but without harming animals! A sweet and salty sauce smothers delicious onion and mushroom ‘meatballs’ that everyone will absolutely love. My recipe was adapted slightly from msvegan.com.

Meatballs are one of those foods that I really enjoy, but am too lazy to ever make... or even buy. I'd rather have my spaghetti without than go through the motions of adding meatballs (I need to take a closer look at my life). Does anyone else feel this way or is it just me? 

This week I had a huge craving for meatballs. It was unrelenting and I began to reminisce on the times my parents used to make delicious Asian meatballs that we'd take to parties, steaming, in a piping hot crock pot. They were always the most scrumptious food at the party and I'd sneakily eat my weight in them and nothing else, until I made my way to the dessert table where no brownie or cookie was safe. Of course, now, I am obliged to make them vegan and cruelty-free, and guess what? They taste even better than I remember.

I have implemented limits on dessert now as well. #adulting

Vegan Asian Meatballs

Recipe by Kathleen @ Produce On Parade

We used to make these all the time when I was a kid. I’m now thrilled to be able to eat them once again, but without harming animals! A sweet and salty sauce smothers delicious onion and mushroom ‘meatballs’ that everyone will absolutely love. My recipe was adapted slightly from msvegan.com.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• Scant 1/2 cup vegan white granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tsp chili garlic paste
• ½ tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups finely chopped cremini or white mushrooms
• 1 tsp sesame seed oil
• 1/2 cup vegan breadcrumbs (I use panko)
• 3 tbsp sauce just made
• 1 14 oz tube of uncooked Gimme Lean Lightlife Sausage
• 1 prepared Ener-G Egg Replacer (or 1 tbsp of ground flax mixed with 2 tbsp water)

Cooking Directions

1. In a small saucepan, whisk ½ cup water through the liquid smoke over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and whisk in the cornstarch that’s been mixed with 1 tbsp of water in a small bowl. Simmer for 5 minutes over low heat.
2. Dry-saute the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in a large skillet for about 8 minutes; until the onions are tender and the mushrooms have darkened and shrunk. Stir in the sesame seed oil and remove from heat.
3. Preheat oven to 400°F and spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with a nonstick cooking spray. In a medium mixing bowl, using your hands, combine the breadcrumbs, 3 tbsp of asian sauce, sausage, and vegan egg until well combined. Mix in the slightly cooled mushroom mixture.
4. Form into 10 two inch meatballs an arrange in the baking dish. Drizzle half of the sauce over them and roll them in the sauce. Bake for 10 minutes.
5. Flip the meatballs and again drizzle half of the sauce over them and roll them in the sauce. Bake for another 10 minutes.
6. Serve hot and with whatever you like; saving the sauce from the baking dish to use over rice or vegetables. We ate them with broccoli and brown rice, or serve as a side or appetizer!