Tag Archives: pine nuts

The folks at Heartland Gluten Free Pasta asked me to create a original recipe using their spaghetti. While I had seen their gluten free and Hidden Vegetable pasta in the store, I had never tried it out. Well, I’m so glad I did because their gluten free pasta is the closest thing I’ve come to regular pasta. It tastes great, has a good texture (not gritty or gooey) and cooks up al dente just as easily as a wheat pasta. It also has a lovely butter yellow color to it, which inspired me to combine it with the reds and yellows of cherry tomatoes, the browns of mushrooms and the flavors of a creamy basil sauce.

You can save time on this dish by using pre-sliced mushrooms and store bought pesto sauce. Feel free to substitute my Tofu Sour Cream or no fat Greek yogurt, for the low fat sour cream. Finally, while it’s baking, set the table, clean up and pour yourself a glass of wine!

You can learn more about Heatland’s gluten free as well as conventional pastas on their website at heartlandpasta.com. You can also connect with them on Facebook and Twitter @HeartlandPasta.

Mushroom, Tomato & Pesto Spaghetti Casserole

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 package Heartland Gluten Free Spaghetti
10 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
16 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup low fat sour cream
2 to 4 tablespoons of pesto (to taste)
Juice from half a lemon
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Pine nuts (optional)

Directions:

Set oven to warm setting (around 150-180 degrees F).
Prepare Heartland Gluten Free Spaghetti per package directions until al dente. Drain, rinse and pour spaghetti back into spaghetti pot. Set aside.
While spaghetti is cooking, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat.
Add oil, then mushrooms and sliced cherry tomatoes to pan. Sauté over medium heat until mushrooms and tomatoes are soft – about 10-12 minutes.
Add sour cream, pesto and lemon juice to pan and stir to combine ingredients. Turn off heat.
Pour sour cream, pesto and vegetable over cooked spaghetti. Toss gently to evenly distribute sauce.
Place spaghetti and sauce mixture into an oven safe casserole dish. Liberally sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top of spaghetti.
Place casserole dish in oven for 15-20 minutes or until top is golden brown and slightly crusty.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
Optionally for those who like a little crunch, serve with a side dish of pine nuts so each dinner guest can add a few to their pasta.

Enjoy!

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Disclosure: I was compensated by Heartland for recipe development, photography and posting. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Goat Cheese Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Baby Greens and Balsamic Reduction

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Sun Dried Tomato Pesto from The Everything Vegan Cookbook

Since I found out that I have food sensitivities to dairy products, I’ve been checking out vegan blogs and cookbooks for substitutes for my favorite recipes that use cheese and yogurt. That’s why I requested a review copy of The Everything Vegan Cookbook by Jolinda Hackett with Lorena Novak Bull, RD.

Vegan recipes like Thai Tom Kha Coconut Soup, Chocolate Peanut Butter Breakfast Quinoa, and Cucumber Cilantro Salad should entice anyone, meat eater or not. It also contains vegan versions of normally cheese filled favorites like lasagna and mac and cheese. The Everything Vegan Cookbook also has meat substitution recipes like Spaghetti with Italian “Meatballs” and lots of tofu based recipes like Simmered Coconut Curried Tofu.

The Everything Vegan Cookbook is a good cookbook for someone starting on their vegan journey who wants to replicate old, non-vegan favorite dishes. Its recipes are easy to follow and usually contain three to five steps – perfect for busy families. It’s also a good cookbook to cook from when having vegan visitors or when a tween or teen decides to try out the vegan lifestyle. With over 300 recipes, there’s enough variety to please everyone. Also, each recipe comes with basic nutritional information like calories, fat grams and fiber grams.

Nutritional yeast as a cheese substitute

One of the first recipes that caught my eye (besides the tofu vegan ice creams) was the pesto. I love pesto but can’t handle the cheese in it. Instead, this recipe uses nutritional yeast as a cheese substitute.

I had some nutritional yeast left over from making the Smoked Turkey with Maple-Herb Brine on Thanksgiving. I found it at Sunflower Market in the bulk bins, but you can find nutritional yeast at any health food store as well as online at Amazon.

The pesto was a hit with my family. Even my husband, who is the number one cheese lover in the family, had seconds. I served it on brown rice pasta and whole wheat pasta. Delicious!

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

From The Everything Vegan Cookbook

Yields 1 cup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

If using dehydrated sun dried tomatoes, reconstitute in warm water until soft and pliable, about 15 minutes.
Puree together all ingredients, adding oil last to achieve desired consistency.

Nutritional information

Per two tablespoons

Calories 133
Fat 13g
Sodium 193 mg
Fiber 1g
Protein 3g

Weight Watchers POINTS = 4

This Mama’s tips

Since I didn’t have enough, I substituted arugula for half of the basil. You could probably experiment with spinach, cilantro and other leafy greens.
If your pesto comes out too thick or dry, add more olive oil.
The pesto doesn’t heat up well in the microwave. Instead, it gets dried out. So heat your noodles, add the pesto and mix it in.
The pesto makes an excellent spread for crackers. Other suggestions are a spread for sandwiches or for a pesto pizza.

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Disclosure: I received a review copy to facilitate this review.

Gluten Free Pine Nut and Date Pudding from the Grand Canyon Cook Book

Here’s another gluten free dessert inspired by the Grand Canyon Cook Book. This recipe caught my eye because I LOVE bread pudding, but have to stay away from it due to my food sensitivities to gluten, baker’s yeast, milk products and sugar.

My son who’s a big fan of Lärabars, which are date based, loved this healthy snack. Serve it warm out of the oven with a scoop of your favorite non-dairy ice cream or a dollop of Greek yogurt. It also heats up well in the microwave. Served cold, this gluten free dessert reminds me of pecan pie! You may just want to tuck this recipe away for Thanksgiving.

Either way, enjoy a sliver (a little goes a long way) with a hot mug of Crio Brü or a glass of soy milk.

Gluten Free Pine Nut and Date Pudding

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1/4 cup stevia
1/4 cup Big Tree Farm’s Coconut Palm Sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup pitted and chopped Medjool dates
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Organic Brown Rice Flour (gluten free)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (gluten free)
1/2 cup whole pine nuts

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix sugar and eggs. Add dates, brown rice flour, salt, baking power, and pine nuts.
Pour into a greased, shallow baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until golden brown.