It's Sunday night again!! As some of you know, we do Pasta Night on Sundays. Generally, I make a tomato based sauce for Pasta Night. During the summer, I change it up a bit and will do an uncooked chunky tomato sauce or a pesto.
However, tonight, I decided to really go crazy ;) and I made a white sauce. Not alfredo, but just a white cream sauce (see the recipe below). My sister in law taught me how to make this sauce more than 10 years ago, but I usually shy away from white sauces because they are so dairy and cream based. This one is vegan (read: healthy!) and very simple with an amazing amount of depth... I made double what I needed and froze the other half....I'm not sure if that is going to actually work out or not - I don't know how well it will defrost, but I'm willing to try it out to possibly save myself some time next time I want to make one. I will let you all know if it actually does work out well the second time around!!
Here's what I have planned for dinner this week:
Monday
Easy Minestrone Soup
Green Salad
TuesdayBrussels Sprouts with Walnuts
Couscous Salad
Baked Tofu
Wednesday
Roasted Veggies
Brown Rice
Sage Spiced White BeansThursday
Tacos or Burritos
Corn and Black Bean Salad
Friday
Garden Burgers
Baked Beans
Fruit Skewers
Saturday
Dinner Out (with my parents)
Sunday
Pasta Dinner
Salads
Garlic Bread
Notes:
Couscous Salad: Mix together cooked couscous (I cook mine in vegetable broth instead of water), some chopped parsley, some sliced olives, and a small handful of raisins. Top with sliced, toasted almonds. Add salt and pepper.
Brussels Sprouts: You have got to try these Brussels sprouts - even if you think that you don't like them. They are delicious and so healthy!
Corn and Black Bean Salad: Mix equal parts corn (frozen is fine) and black beans. Mix in 1/4 of a diced red pepper and a small handful of chopped cilantro. Top with a dressing made from equal parts olive oil and lime juice with a little bit of cumin and cayenne pepper. Top salad with dressing and add salt and pepper.
White Sauce for Pasta: Melt 3 Tablespoons of Earth Balance (a butter substitute) into a sauce pan, take the pan off the heat and add in 3 Tablespoons of flour. Mix with a whisk until smooth and creamy (that means no, no, no lumps!). Move pan back to the burner and add in 1/4 c. of soy milk, whisk until creamy; add in another 1/4 c. of soy milk and whisk again. Slowly, while whisking, add in another 1-1/2 c. of soy milk. Continue to whisk until sauce starts a slow boil. Lower heat to low and whisk occasionally for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add in 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg (freshly grated, if you have it), a little bit of pepper, and salt to taste.
This sauce is great on pasta, but would also be wonderful over any kind of greens.
What are you going crazy with in your cooking this week?
More later! :)