Meatless Monday #26 - Hurry Up Pasta and Grain Meat Sausage Dinner

I do believe autumn will have it's way and crash our summer party this year. We actually had to turn our heat on this week as the last couple of nights dipped into the 40's°F.  I'm not quite yet ready to give up my quick and light summer fare, but this weather has me craving heartier foods. 

Yesterday I wasn't quite in meal mode when I looked at the clock and realized we should have been eating our supper already and I didn't have a clue what to prepare. I knew I wanted some pasta but that was about all I knew. I quickly went cruising online and came across a recipe for vegan Alfredo sauce. I seriously considered making just pasta and throwing in my standby protein of beans and some broccoli, but wanted to do something more for my honey who I knew would want more. So I dug around our freezer and came across these meat sausages we picked up not too long ago and thought, hmmmm.. quick, easy..... perfect.

So, I don't have an original recipe this week, but am shamelessly sharing one that I found online and hope you visit Lolo's site for more inspiration.

Here's what our Meatless Monday looked like.....simple, but YUM!

Hurry Up Alfredo


Recipe from Vegan Yum Yum

Makes 2-3 Servings

1 Cup non-dairy mil
k 

1/3 Cup raw, unsalted Cashews


1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast


3 Tbs Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce


2 Tbs Earth Balance Margarine


1 Tbs Tahini


1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice


2 tsp Dijon Mustard


1/2 tsp Paprika (smoked preferably)


1 Pinch Nutmeg


2-4 Cloves of Garlic, optional

Black pepper, to taste

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This works best in a high-speed blender (like a Vita-Mix or Nutribullet), but you can definitely make it in a regular blender. 

 Drain the pasta and return it to the hot empty pan. Pour the sauce over the pasta, place on medium heat, and stir until heated through. Serve with lots of fresh cracked black pepper. 

It doesn't really taste like Alfredo sauce, but if you want something creamy and good, this hits the spot.

While the pasta was heating through, I quickly sautéd these lovely grain meat sausages that we found at Costco. Add these links to a hot skillet with just a smidge of olive oil and turn as they brown. You do want to be careful not to overcook these as they would become tough.  These come in a few flavors and we chose the Smoked Apple Sage flavor for our meal. These particular sausages have yukon gold potatoes, apples and rubbed sage in them. And one of the things I love about them is they are Soy Free!  As some of you may know, finding meat replacements without soy is not so easy. I'm in love.  Even my sweetie remarked at how good these were!

I quickly cooked up some frozen broccoli and a meal was made in less than 30 minutes.

I know I tend to share things that require chopping and cooking, but going meatless doesn't always mean time consuming preparations and meals. To me, this is quicker than getting in my car and ordering fast food... and much more tastier.

What quick meatless options have you found?

I'm hooking up with The Recipe Renovator for Meatless Monday. Join me over there for more  Meatless inspiration.

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