Vegan “Sausage” Campanelle with Veggies June 3, 2010

This is another super quick meal that we eat on the nights that we are rushing from work to gym to shower to whatever else is going on after that.  If you prepare the veggies and sausage while you are boiling the water, everything comes together at the same time.  As this recipe is written, it makes a TON of food, easily enough for 6-8 meals.  Looks like I know what I’ll be eating for lunch the rest of the week!  I used a little of the Jamaican allspice we brought back from a recent trip—but Jamaican allspice isn’t at all like the allspice you’d typically put in a pumpkin pie.  It’s more a mixture of garlic, peppers, salt, thyme, and a few other ingredients.  You can add whatever spices you have on hand (or just salt & pepper) and I’m sure it’ll be just fine!  The key ingredient is the Gimme Lean vegan “sausage” which is sold in a tube, usually in the produce section.

It’s got a lot of protein and is pretty low in calories.  All in all, if you aren’t worried about carbs, this meal is pretty healthy.

Vegan “Sausage” Campanelle with Veggies

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced
1 small red or green pepper, diced
A few cloves of minced garlic
1 tube of Gimme Lean sausage
1 jar of pasta sauce
16 oz campanelle pasta (or other smaller shape like penne,  orecciette, fusilli, etc)
2 cups chopped broccoli

Method:

Put a large pot of water on to boil.  While you are waiting for the water to boil, heat a little olive oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over med-high heat.  Add the onion and saute until translucent.  Turn the heat down a little, add the garlic, and cook another minute or so.

Add the diced peppers and cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Add the Gimme Lean sausage, breaking it up from the tube into smaller chunks or bite-sized pieces.  Cook it thoroughly, stirring every so often to make sure it gets evenly browned while you are cooking it.  Once it is cooked through and browned, add the pasta sauce and reduce heat to low.  Add any spices you might want to add at this time.  Let the sauce mixture sit on low heat while you finish cooking the pasta.

About 2 minutes before the pasta is done, add the broccoli to the pasta pot.  Drain, and toss everything together, topping with a little parmesan if you like.