- Hey guys, so today I wanted to kick off
a reocurring segment that I hope to do
on my channel once a month called The Meatless Monday.
So I know a lot of you are vegetarian
and sometimes vegan, and I wanted to share with you
recipes that you guys can make at home
because a lot of you come to my channel
and say, "Oh Beth, I love watching your recipes,
"unfortunately I don't really ever make any of 'em."
(laughs) And I think, oh no, that's a shame.
I need to make sure I'm creating recipes
that everybody can enjoy.
So today, I'm going to share with you
one of our favorite recipes, a baked veggie pasta
that you can alter too to make vegan or vegetarian.
Let me show you how to make it.
The first thing you wanna do is set your pasta to boil.
So really you can use any type of cut pasta you like.
You can use a penne, a rigatoni,
really whatever you have on hand will do.
You just wanna use a pound of it.
So get that cooking,
and then we're gonna saute our vegetables.
Take out a large, oven-safe skillet,
and then you're gonna add two tablespoons of olive oil,
and to that we're gonna add two and a half cups
of sliced red onion that you've cut into half moons.
You can season with some salt and pepper to taste.
Once they start to wilt down and become caramelized,
you're gonna add a teaspoon and a half of balsamic vinegar.
This is going to add a great sweetness to them.
And you wanna cook that down just so that
the vinegar has a chance to evaporate,
and your mixture starts to become reduced.
At that point, we're gonna add two and a half cups
of sliced mushrooms, and you wanna cook those down
until they start to become tender.
And then you wanna add a full bag of pre-washed spinach.
I know it looks like a lot of spinach,
but spinach does cook down very very quickly,
and you will be surprised at how little spinach is left
once you cook this whole bag down.
Now, at this stage, if you were making this vegan,
all you would have to do is drain your pasta,
drizzle it with some olive oil,
pop those delicious veggies on top,
and dinner is ready to go.
Now, if you do eat dairy, then we are going to continue on,
and I'm gonna show you how to make a really delicious,
cheesy, cream sauce to go on our pasta.
Take your vegetables out of your skillet
and place them aside, and then in the same skillet,
you can add two tablespoons of butter,
and just let that melt down,
and then two tablespoons of flour,
letting all of that flour sort of cook for about a minute,
and then you're going to add two cups of milk,
and then you can whisk that up.
And then you're gonna set that on medium high,
just to allow that mixture to start to thicken.
And then we're also going to add
a quarter teaspoon of salt,
two cloves of garlic that have been minced,
and you can stir that up.
Then once your mixture starts to thicken
and become nice and creamy,
then we're going to add three quarters cup
of an Italian blended cheese.
So you know when you get to the supermarket,
and you see the Mexican blend cheese
and the Italian blend cheese, go for the Italian
because that's the one that has a mixture
of typically provolone, mozzarella,
and sometimes Asiago and parmesan.
So you want the mozzarella and the provolone
for the gooeyness,
and then you want those harder cheeses for the flavor.
And then we are going to take our already drained pasta,
put it in a big bowl, add our cheese sauce,
give it a stir, and then add our vegetables
and give it a stir,
and then you'll have this beautiful mixture on your hands
that you are going to put back in your skillet
and top with the remaining three quarters cup of cheese.
And then you're gonna pop your skillet in the oven
using the broil setting to make sure
that all of that cheese gets melted and is golden brown.
And the finishing touch is, I do like to add
just a few sprigs of fresh thyme on top.
And there you have it, oven to table, ready to go.
And allow everybody to spoon out
a delicious portion of this cheesy veggie pasta bake.
It's such a comforting dish to tuck into,
especially as the weather starts to turn cool.
It's also a great one if you live with a bunch of roommates,
and you need to make a big batch of something
that's not gonna cost you a lot of money
but can feed a lot of people.
I hope you guys give this one a try,
and let me know what you think.
And I also hope that you subscribe for more
quick and easy recipes.
Alright you guys, I'll see you back here next week.
Until then, bye!
(upbeat jazz music)