Marinara Sauce Recipe (Vegan)

We rarely eat tomato sauce in our house due to Sam's and my tomato sensitivities. We can have tomatoes every now and then, though, and every once in a while we crave spaghetti with tomato sauce. I don't cook with onions and garlic, so my marinara sauce is flavored with lots of dry spices. This marinara sauce is rich and flavorful - perfect to put over spaghetti/pasta, gnocchi, or even on a pizza.

Marinara Sauce Recipe

2 tbsp olive oil
1-1/2 cups of canned tomato puree or crushed tomatoes(about half of a 28 oz. can)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt (depending on your taste)
1/4 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves

In a medium size sauce pan, add the olive oil and turn the heat to Medium High. Add the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined. Let the sauce heat up to a boil, then cover the pot, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes or longer. Remove the bay leaves before serving. Serve over your favorite pasta. Serves 2 adults (and one small child).

Ground Beef and Mushroom Rotini Pasta Recipe

Recently, I wanted to make a "Hamburger Helper"-type dish for my family. We love mushrooms and beef together, so this recipe came about by putting our favorite things together into one dish. When served with a green vegetable on the side this is a delicious, complete meal.

Ground Beef and Mushroom Rotini Pasta Recipe

3/4 lb extra lean ground beef
1 package of whole mushrooms (8 oz.)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Shredded parmesan cheese (fresh)
2 cups brown rice rotini pasta (I use Mrs. Leepers Rice Vegetable Twist pasta)
1/4 cup of minced fresh chives (optional)

Wash, dry and slice the mushrooms. Wash, dry and mince a small handful of fresh chives.

Start a pot of water on High heat to boil for the rotini. When boiling, add the rotini and a dash of salt, and follow the package's cooking instructions.

Heat a large skillet, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, to High heat. Add the mushrooms, drizzle a little olive oil over them, salt and pepper to taste, and cook them until the mushrooms are browned. When browned, move the mushrooms to a covered dish and set aside until the ground beef is done.

In the same skillet, on High heat, add the ground beef. Break the beef into medium pieces, salt and pepper to taste, and brown the ground beef. Drain off any fat. When the ground beef is browned and fully cooked, add the mushrooms back to the pan with the beef, mixing thoroughly. Turn the heat down to low. Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the skillet with the mushrooms and beef. Mix everything until well combined.

Plate up the ground beef and mushroom pasta and top it with shredded parmesan cheese and minced chives. Serve with a green vegetable on the side. Serves 2 adults (and one small child).

Mac and Goat Cheese Recipe (Vegetarian)

We eat macaroni and cheese very rarely due to Sam's food sensitivities. When we do, I use rice macaroni and goat cheese for the focal point of the recipe. We absolutely *love* this dish. This is how I make it.

Mac and Goat Cheese Recipe

1-1/2 cups dry macaroni (I use brown rice macaroni)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup Chavrie goat cheese (a silky soft, spreadable goat cheese)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese (fresh)
Salt and pepper to taste

Start a medium pot of water on High heat to boil for the macaroni. When boiling, add the macaroni and a dash of salt, and follow the package's cooking instructions. When the pasta is done, drain it and add it back to the medium pot for cooking the macaroni and goat cheese.

In the medium pot that the cooked macaroni is in, over low heat, add the tbsp of olive oil, the Chevre goat cheeese, and the parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir with a spoon for 1 or 2 minutes over low heat until the cheese is melted and incorporated into the pasta. Serves 4 as a side dish.

Sesame Chow Mein Noodles Recipe (Vegan)

We love the vegetarian chow mein noodles we get at dim sum restaurants. I decided to make my own version of chow mein noodles at home without using soy sauce or green onions (since I'm sensitive to them), but instead using sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds to flavor the noodles. These chow mein noodles go great with grilled or fried fish.

Sesame Chow Mein Noodles Recipe

1/2 of a 6 oz. package Sun Luck brand Chuka Soba Chow Mein Noodles
1 tbsp Sun Luck Pure Sesame Oil
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Salt and pepper

Start a medium pot of water to boil over High heat. Add the chow mein noodles and a dash of salt and let them boil for 3 minutes. On another burner, start a skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to Medium heat. When the noodles are done boiling, drain the noodles and add them to the skillet. Add the sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt and pepper to taste, and stir fry the noodles for 3 minutes. Serves 2 adults (and one small child) as a side dish.

Homemade Gnocchi Recipe (Vegetarian)

I created this gnocchi recipe originally because I wanted a use for my leftover Baked Mashed Potatoes (Vegan). I know that homemade gnocchi traditionally has mashed potatoes, flour, egg yolk, and a dash of salt in it. My Baked Mashed Potatoes (Vegan) have just baked potatoes, olive oil, and salt and pepper in them, so I figured they would work great in gnocchi. Here is what I came up with. We love this gnocchi browned in some olive oil with shredded parmesan. You can also serve it with your favorite tomato sauce.

Homemade Gnocchi Recipe

1 large russet potato (1-1.15 lbs)
Olive oil for rubbing on the potato
1 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

-OR- 1-1/2 cup leftover Baked Mashed Potatoes (Vegan)

1-1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 egg yolk
Unbleached flour for dusting
Water by the tbsp if using leftover cold Baked Mashed Potatoes (Vegan)

To prepare the potato:

Place a piece of aluminum foil on the middle/top rack of your oven, large enough for the potato to sit on. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash the potato, dry it, and poke it with a fork a few times in various places. Remove your rings and drizzle a little olive oil on the potato and rub the oil over it entirely. Place it in the oven on the aluminum foil and bake it for 1-1/2 hours, until it is baked through and soft.

When the potato is done, have a mixing bowl ready. Cut it in half and squish out (or remove using a spoon) the potato from the skin into the bowl. Discard the skin (or you can eat it separately if you want). Add the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste, and use an electric hand mixer to whip up the mashed potatoes. You should have around 1-1/2 cup of mashed potatoes using one large russet potato.

To make the gnocchi:

Remove your rings. Then mix together by hand the mashed potatoes, flour, and egg yolk. If you're using just-made mashed potatoes, the dough should form a ball without having to add any water to it. If using leftover Baked Mashed Potatoes (Vegan) from the fridge, use 1-1/2 cup of the potatoes, and when the potatoes, flour, and egg yolk are thoroughly mixed, add water 1 tbsp at a time just until the dough forms a ball.

Lightly dust your working surface with flour. Take a small handful of dough, dust it with flour, and using your hands, roll it into a long stick shape. Use a knife to cut 1/2" pieces into the strip of dough.


For each piece of gnocchi you cut, press your finger into it to make a dimple, then round the edges a bit.

Lay out the gnocchi side by side, not touching, in an aluminum 9x12 pan lined with wax paper. When the first layer is full, start another layer right on top of it (you can have mulitiple layers of gnocchi-lined wax paper in the pan).

Either cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze the gnocchi for later, or cover and refrigerate the gnocchi until you are ready to boil them that day. If you freeze them, remember to take the pan out of the freezer after a few hours, remove the wax paper, and relocate the frozen gnocchi to a large Ziploc freezer bag.

To cook the gnocchi:

Non-stick cooking spray
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Handful of shredded parmesan cheese (fresh)

Heat a large pot of water, with a dash of salt, to boiling over High heat. Drop in gnocchi a small handful at a time until all of the gnocchi are in the pot. The gnocchi will float to the top when they are ready to take out.

Meanwhile, on another burner, heat a large skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to Low heat.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the floating gnocchi from the pot. Shake the spoon over the pot to drain off as much water as possible. Put the drained gnocchi in the heated skillet. Use a spatula to move the gnocchi around every couple of minutes, until all of the gnocchi are finally in the skillet. Raise the skillet heat to Med. and drizzle a little olive oil over the gnocchi, salt and pepper to taste, and saute them until all of the gnocchi are lightly browned. This will take around 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and add a handful of shredded parmesan cheese to the gnocchi and mix together. Serves 4 as a side dish, or 2 adults (and one small child) as a main course topped with tomato sauce (or served with a grilled meat if not vegetarian) and a side of vegetables.

Gehacktes mit Hörnli - Swiss Macaroni and Beef Recipe

My husband is half Swiss. His father was from Switzerland and made "Gehacktes mit Hörnli," or Swiss macaroni and beef, for supper quite often while Richard was growing up. It is one of Richard's great mealtime memories. When we were visiting Switzerland in 2007, Richard really wanted to eat it again, but didn't know what it was called. One day Richard's Aunt and Uncle took us on a catered boat ride on Lake Zurich, and Richard told his Uncle about the macaroni and beef dish his Dad used to make that he loved growing up. His Uncle pointed to "Gehacktes mit Hörnli" on the menu, and said Richard's Father loved this dish. Richard ordered it, and loved every bite. When we got back home from Switzerland, our first order of business was to recreate this meal. This is what we came up with. I believe ours is a little 'saucier' than what we had in Switzerland, so it's not an exact replication of the dish. Regardless, our recipe is a comfort-food dish that really warms your heart.

Gehacktes mit Hörnli - Swiss Macaroni and Beef Recipe

3/4 lb extra lean ground beef
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
1-1/2 cups of canned plain crushed tomatoes (about half of a 28 oz. can)
1 tbsp sugar
2 cups of dry macaroni pasta
1/4 cup of minced fresh chives

Start a large pot of water on High heat to boil for the macaroni. When boiling, add the macaroni and a dash of salt, and follow the package's cooking instructions.

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over High heat. Season with garlic powder and then salt and pepper to taste. Really break the beef up with a spatula into very small pieces. Drain off any fat. Reduce heat to Medium and pour the crushed tomatoes into the skillet, add the sugar, and mix it with the ground beef. Heat the meat sauce to a slow boil and then reduce heat to simmer while the macaroni is finishing up.

When the macaroni is done, drain it, and plate it. Top it with a hearty serving of the meat sauce and a handful of freshly minced chives. Serves 2 adults (and one small child). One last note: It's pronounced "hernli."

Steak and Roasted Cauliflower Spaghetti Recipe

I created this dish when we stopped eating spaghetti sauce due to Sam's tomato sensitivity and my tomato, onion, and garlic sensitivities. I wanted to come up with a hearty and complete spaghetti dish for my family. I added the Roasted Cauliflower taking a chance, not knowing if it would work in a spaghetti dish. Amazingly, it blew us away with how good it works. We all love this recipe.

Steak and Roasted Cauliflower Spaghetti Recipe

3/4 lb beef top sirloin steak (boneless)
1 package of whole mushrooms (8 oz.)
1 medium head of cauliflower
1 handful of dry spaghetti (enough for 2-3 people)
Shredded parmesan cheese (fresh)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Roast the cauliflower using this recipe. You will need 1 hour total cooking time for the cauliflower, so don't start cooking the mushrooms, steak, or spaghetti, until the 30 minute mark.

Cut the raw steak up into small bite-sized pieces, removing most of the fat. Put the steak pieces into a medium-size mixing bowl and drizzle a little olive oil over it. Mix together the steak and olive oil, and set aside.

Wash and dry the mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms and set aside.

At the 30 minute mark of the cauliflower, spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray, heat the skillet to High heat, and add the sliced mushrooms. Let the mushrooms sit without moving them for a couple of minutes to start browning. Drizzle a little olive oil over the mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste, then saute the mushrooms, stirring every couple of minutes until they are all nicely browned. This will take around 15 minutes or so. Remove the mushrooms from the heat and put into a covered dish to keep warm.

At the 40 minute mark of the cauliflower, start a large pot of water on High heat to boil for the spaghetti. When boiling, add the spaghetti and a dash of salt, and follow the package's cooking instructions. Time your spaghetti to be done when the roasted cauliflower is done, so the pasta can be drained and added directly to the skillet with the beef and mushrooms at the end.

At the 50 minute mark of the cauliflower, spray the large non-stick skillet again, heat it to High heat, and add the steak. Add salt and pepper to taste and saute the steak until all of the pieces are cooked through and browned. This will take around 6 minutes.

When the cauliflower is done, reduce the skillet heat to Med. and add the mushrooms to the steak in the skillet, along with the cooked spaghetti, and stir/toss until everything is well mixed.

Plate up the spaghetti with the beef and mushrooms. Add a serving of the roasted cauliflower on top of that, and add freshly shredded parmesan cheese over the whole thing. Serves 2 adults (and one small child) using the quantities above. If you use more spaghetti to serve 4 people, you would want to add more steak and mushrooms, but as long as you use a large head of cauliflower instead of the medium, one would probably still be enough.