Another family favorite that is super easy full of flavor. Great with garlic bread as well!
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
8 oz. uncooked penne pasta or ravioli
2 Tofurky Italian Sausages
½ chopped onion
2 large Portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon minced or crushed garlic (or ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
4 oz. sun dried tomatoes, julienne cut, with oil
8 oz. sun dried tomato pesto or tomato bruschetta (Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s makes great ones!)
2 tablespoons roasted red pepper pesto (optional)
Oil for cooking
DIRECTIONS
Step 1: Cook penne pasta or ravioli according to package directions. Use a little oil in the water so the pasta won’t stick. After cooking, rinse pasta and set aside.
Step 2: Slice the Italian Sausage into bite sized pieces. In a large skillet, put a little cooking oil along with the oil from the sun dried tomatoes (drain the oil out of the jar of tomatoes). Heat oil mixture on high. Add the Italian Sausage, onion and mushrooms. Add Italian Seasoning and garlic and sauté together for a few minutes until the onions are slightly brown and the Italian Sausage is crispy (about three minutes).
Step 3: Add the sun dried tomatoes and continue cooking about one minute more. Add the cooked pasta to the mixture and stir to blend with the vegetables and the seasoning. Finally, add the sun-dried tomato pesto or (bruschetta) and the roasted red pepper pesto (if applicable) a little at a time.
Step 4: This pasta dish should be moist but not covered in pasta sauce so be careful not to add too much pesto. Cook for about 1 minute more and stir to blend the flavors and prevent sticking. Taste and add more Italian Seasoning if necessary.
Variations: You may use veggie chik'n (such as Gardein), or other flavors of veggie sausage (pesto, apple sage, etc) in place of the Italian Sausage as an alternate. We use spinach pasta for another variation as well. Finally, try adding some steamed vegetables such as asparagus or broccoli!
For more recipes, and a Meatless Monday 52 Week Meal Planning Guide, check out our book, The Vegan System, with over 100 vegan recipes in 215 full color pages. Available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com or in PDF to download. Visit TheVeganSystem.com for details. Also available on our website is a FREE 7 Day Vegetarian Starter Kit and Vegan Product Guide (with over 150 vegan products).
