Vegan Vegetable Pasta

Growing up, my family has always been big meat eaters.  To this day my dad LOVES to BBQ any kind of meat.  It has always been the center of a meal.  Recently I have been trying to eat less meat after learning many un appetizing things about the care and hygeine that slaughter animals are given.  Not to mention all the hormones and antibiotics that are pumped into them..which then in turn get pumped into our own bodies.  Anyway, I have been trying to only buy free range organic and/or 100% grass fed meat.  That can be hard on a tight budget so I decided to cut out meat one night a week.  My husband isn't too crazy about this since he thinks he will be weak if he doesn't have meat every meal.  Slowly but surely he is coming around (just a little though) lol.  Anyway I forgot to set the salmon out Sunday night so Meatless Monday it was!  A veggie pasta is always delicious and you can make it differently everytime.  Last night I decided to try something a little different. 

Vegan Vegetable Pasta:

1/2 Box of Whole Wheat Organic Pasta (I used Linguine)
Olive Oil (at least 6 Tablespoons)
1 Sunburst Squash cut into bite size pieces (Preferrably Organic~No drugs in them)
6 Asparagus Spears, remove woody stalks and cut
1/4 Cup Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1/4 Cup Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 Cup Grape Tomatoes, sliced
Fresh Garlic, finely chopped (To taste..I like alot)
1/2 of a small onion, finely chopped

6 Crimini Mushrooms, cleaned, peeled and sliced
1 Lemon with peel for zesting.
1-2 Oranges
1 Tablespoon of Ginger, Grated
Salt n Pepper to taste

(I know, I didn't show all the ingredients lol)

1. Cook Pasta according to box directions, do not overcook.  Add a little olive oil to pasta so it doesn't stick.
2. After chopping all vegetables, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a non stick skillet.
3. Add onions and saute for 1 minute.
4. Add red and green bell peppers, saute for another minute.
5. Add Asparagus and tomatoes and sautee for another 1-3 minutes, adding more olive oil if necessary.
6. Add squash, mix then add mushrooms and garlic.
7. Continue to saute just until asparagus and squash are tender.
8. Toss in pasta and mix well, adding remaining olive oil if you want. (I did..lol)
9. Mix in Grated Ginger.
10. Zest one lemon and then sqeeze the juice into the pan (I used a small lemon, you may want to use less juice if your lemon is large.
11. squeeze the juice of one orange into the pan and mix well.
12.  Add salt and pepper as you like and serve!

Ham Cups with Poached Eggs

The hubby and kids were having pizza, but after the pasta and white wine sauce the night before I figured I better go easy on the carbs since I didn't have any workout plans!  I quickly whipped this together, easy peasy!

Ham Cups with Poached Eggs

3 Slices of Homel all natural Ham

1.5 slices of swiss cheese (preferrably organic)

1 Cup of raw organic baby spinach

3 large eggs

Salt, Pepper and Cayenne to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees
2. Oil a large muffin pan and place a slice of ham in each (I used 3)
2. Place spinach leaves in ham.
3. Top spinach with half a slice of cheese (broken up if necessary)
4. Pop it in the oven and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10 minutes.
5. While the ham cups are heating up, poach 3 eggs.
6. Top each ham cup with a poached egg and sprinkle with desired seasoning!

Baked Salmon in White Wine Sauce

It isn't everyday that I can get salmon around here that isn't farm raised with color added or from China.  So when I do come across Wild Atlantic Salmon, I can't pass it up.  I usually dress it up with some lemon, butter and herbs, simple but delicious.  I wanted to try something different this time and came across a recipe for Salmon in White Wine Sauce.  I used a combination of these two recipes: Salmon with white wine and Salmon Linguine with White Wine.  I made the sauce base with the second recipe and add the herbs from the first.  I seasoned the salmon filets and baked them at 350 Degrees for about 25 minutes.   Top it with the white wine sauce and Voila! You can pair this with whatever sounds good to you, I made a basic salad and red roasted potatoes with dill! Delicious!

This sauce is so rich and creamy, I couldn't wait to have it again! So....I used the leftover salmon and sauce the next night.  I cut the salmon into chunks and heated it in a saucepan with the white wine sauce, tossed it with Linguine and sprinkled on some extra dill.  Wow! This was AMAZING!  I felt somewhat guilty for eating such a rich and high carb meal...but not guilty enough to stop at one serving! Bwahahaha!