Our 6 Favorite Vegetarian Pasta Recipes.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

My husband and I like to think of ourselves as pretty clean eaters. We don't eat meat or much dairy (except cheese, god I love cheese) and only certain types of fish and seafood. You would think that this makes planning meals difficult, but really it's the opposite. When I go in for our weekly shop, I grab as many vegetables as I think I can fit in my fridge, a few pieces of fish, and a couple boxes of pasta, and some broth. Once I get home I throw the fish in the freezer, and hop on my computer or pull out my cookbooks and try (try being the operative word) to look at the week ahead and plan a menu.  In the Summer things are a little trickier, mostly because I don't really want to spend a second more inside the house than is necessary, but also there are the usual concerns about heating the house too much with the oven, and not wanting a big meal with it is 90 degrees out... but the Winter. Well, in the Winter all bets are off. 

During the months of October- April I work out a lot more (mainly because there is nothing else to do in the freezing cold, and my kids always love the children's room at our gym) and when it's cold outside, like everyone else, I crave comfort food. Soups, pastas, anything and everything that needs to be roasted for hours... you name it. Basically if it's warm and has carbs, I'm in. While I certainly aim to mix things up a bit, I start to notice around this time a year that I tend to recycle the same recipes over and over. Sometimes it's just because I'm feeling uninspired, but mostly it's because they are just that good. In most of these I try to shy away from the unhealthy elements but substituting olive oil for butter, and halving (or even quartering) the cheese, but considering the amount of vegetables in each, you really can't go wrong. 

For those of you out there looking for some great new recipes, here are my 6 go to vegetarian pasta dishes. Bon Appetit!

Simple Spaghetti with Kale, Lemon, and Garlic

recipe
 Linguini with Pea Pesto*

recipe
 Cavatappi with Browned Brussels Sprouts and Breadcrumbs

recipe
 Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe**
(my favorite dish EVER)

recipe
 Brown Butter Spaghetti with Kale and Roasted Butternut Squash 

recipe
 Wild Mushroom Fettuccine 

recipe

What are your favorite wintertime recipes? I'd love to work something new in to the rotation!


*I substitue bow tie pasta and my kids love it!
** Most unhealthy dish ever... I so do not care. 

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