indonesian stir-fried noodles + "one-dish vegan" winner

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It was my youngest daughter’s birthday yesterday – she turned 14. She likes to think that now she is officially a teenager, as 13 was just too close to being a “tween.” She requested a strawberry-lemonade birthday cake for her party and a spaghetti bar, complete with vegan meatballs and homemade sauce. She got all three.

If you are interested in seeing just exactly what a “strawberry-lemonade” cake might look like, I have it posted on my facebook page here. Holler for the recipe – I’m happy to share.

Since her birthday week menu officially ended yesterday, having consisted of "healthful" fare such as vegan pups in a blanket, pizza, vegan broccoli cheese soup (this actually being the better of her choices!), vegan shamrock shake and other cookies and sweets, I decided to make something for lunch today that was full of veggies, as it was woefully lacking this past week.

For lunch today we had Indonesian Stir-Fried Noodles with baby kale, cabbage and broccoli. A very fast and easy dish to toss together in under 30 minutes even if you have to cook the pasta first; just chop the veggies while the water boils.

Indonesian Stir-Fried Noodles Recipe

On a separate note, I have recently discovered vegan recipe parties that a few blogs are hosting and since this was a delicious, easy and healthy meal, I have decided to enter this recipe. The blogs hosting Healthy Vegan Fridays are Suzanne at Hello Veggie, Anna at Herbivore Triathlete, and Kimmy at Rock My Vegan Socks.  

The blog hosting Gluten-Free Fridays is Vegetarian Mamma.

I’ve also decided to submit this dish to What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons since, well, it is Wednesday and all!

Finally, to wrap things up and leave no string unattached, today is the day to announce the winner of One-Dish Vegan by Robin Robertson. Her new book features such completely amazing meals such as …., … and ….. If you weren’t lucky enough (and I am so so sorry about that!) to win my copy, I encourage you to get one anyway; it is a really great book, with creative and wonderfully tasty meals. Since I've made around 30 or so recipes from it, I know!

The winner of Robin’s book is comment number: 25 by Timi Caswell.

Please respond to zsu at zsusveganpantry dot com with your mailing address so I can get this to you asap!

And a big thank you to everyone for entering! I will be hosting more giveaways next month, so bookmark this site, or follow via those handy buttons on the top right of this blog.

All the best,

Zsu

back to basics - stuffed shells

Stuffed shells are scrumptious. A creamy filling inside tender pasta swimming in a sea of tomato sauce and baked with plenty of vegan cheese. My family loves stuffed shells but the process can seem overwhelming. I believe that is mainly because stuffing of the shells can be overwhelming - it can be messy and time consuming.

Here is the easiest way to make them, by following the directions below. Use your favorite tomato sauce recipe (or brand), your favorite tofu or nut ricotta recipe and mix a blend of vegan cheese for optimal melting ability. 

Mangia! Mangia!

The Process:

Step 1. Spread your tomato sauce on the bottom of a casserole pan. Arrange the COOKED shells on the tomato sauce.

Step 2. Place the filling inside a zip top bag, twist the bag and snip one corner, about 1-inch across. The opening should be large enough to squeeze out enough filling to fill the shells.

Step 3. Fill the shells using your homemade piping bag.  

Step 4. Sprinkle with the vegan cheese blend, cover the pan with foil to melt the cheese. Bake in a 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes, uncover and bake for 5 more minutes. 

The Result: Easy Baked Stuffed Shells