Vegetarian Pasta Bake

An absolutely easy vegetarian pasta bake that is packed full of chunky vegetables to fill you up.

Hello and happy Monday!

I hope you are having a lovely Monday and that you had a great weekend. It seems that my prayers for good sunny weather were answered and I managed to go for an adventurous bike ride on Saturday. It was kind of tough for me as it was rather hilly. I am not ashamed to admit that I had to push my bike up several hills as I was already feeling like that – (see photo below)

We didn’t go for dim sum this weekend though. Went to our new favourite Chinese restaurant (Blue Moon) instead. Ended the weekend by watching the new movie by Seth McFarland – A Million Ways to Die in the West. Such a wonderfully silly and fun movie!

Enough of my weekend recap and back to Meatless Monday. Today is time for a vegetarian pasta bake. Easy to make, tasty and so filling – especially for a vegetarian dish.

I cooked the vegetables and pasta together first before baking. I find that it just gives the pasta more flavour.

The melted, golden cheese on top really just caps off this delicious dish beautifully. Leftovers keep really well too. What’s not to love?

Butternut Squash, Courgette and Chickpea Hash (vegetarian)

Hello everyone, how is your week going so far? Since I missed my Meatless Monday post yesterday, I thought I would do Meatless Tuesday instead and show you what I cooked yesterday. How about that to justify missing my own deadline?

Last Friday I shared a recipe for Thai Butternut Squash Soup which is a perfect winter warmer. You might have noted that I used only half a medium butternut squash in that recipe. Obviously that left me with half a butternut squash to use up. I decided to use it with some courgettes to make a simple hash. I added some of my homemade tomato based pasta sauce into the mix for a very satisfying vegetarian meal. The butternut squash is a nice substitute for potatoes and I added a can of chickpeas for a protein boost to the dish. I can’t actually call it a one pan meal though as I used a roasting pan to roast the butternut squash first. Barring that, it is still as simple as can be and most importantly, it is delicious and satisfying!

Thai Butternut Squash Soup (vegetarian)

I am very excited to share this fantastic soup recipe with you. I am so excited I want to go straight to the recipe. Seriously, this soup has such a sophisticated taste you will receive many praises.

It’s a great addition to a dinner party menu too – especially if you are hosting an Asian themed one. It’s not difficult to do either. I roasted the butternut squash as I feel that it enhances the taste of the soup just that much more. As for the consistency of the soup, you can leave it chunky but I blended mine as I prefer my soups to have a smoother consistency. I think it looks better too.

Quick Chicken & Butternut Squash

So simple and delicious

Cooking for one can be a chore sometimes. As my better half is away from home this week, I needed some quick and easy dish ideas. Spend less time in the kitchen and more time watching Mad Men. In times such as these, a quick one pan dish is a definite must.  

As I was looking despondently at the sad and few ingredients in my refrigerator, I decided to combine some butternut squash and coriander for a quick meal. I added some chilli for some heat and the combination worked well. The bright colours are an added bonus as well, plenty of antioxidants!