Generally, I try to buy all my groceries with a specific dish in mind. I do this to avoid having a random pile of groceries in my apartment that I don’t know what to do with. But every once in a while, I end up with just that – a hodgepodge and no plan. In an effort to keep from wasting food, I throw them all together and hope for the best (with some thought process, of course). Sometimes it turns out great – other times… not so great.

This was one of those “great” moments, but don’t be fooled, I got lucky and had pretty cohesive ingredients to work with. Because I had absolutely no idea what to call it, seeing as there were so many different ingredients, you got this – “Throw it all in” Vegan Pasta.

My challenge included a bunch of veggies/herbs about to go bad (feels like an episode of Chopped, but with a really good basket of ingredients). I was working with eggplant, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, and green onion. My initial thoughts were some type of stir-fry or pasta. I went with pasta, because with the basil and sun-dried tomatoes it just felt more Italian style. Also, I just love pasta and will choose it every time.

Then I thought, well, this needs protein and a sauce. I found a bag of vegan Morning Star Chik’n Strips in my freezer and an already opened container of veggie stock in my fridge. And what is pasta without cheese? So I grabbed a bag of vegan shredded mozzarella and tub of vegan cream cheese. Now let’s get to work.

Start by boiling your pasta following the directions on the box. I used linguine, but you can use whatever pasta you like – I just used what I had on hand.

While the pasta is boiling, chop up your eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, green onion, and fresh basil. In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat, warm up some oil (I use avocado oil) and throw in the eggplant, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, some minced garlic, and the vegan chik’n strips. Add about 2 tbsp. of water to the pan to rehydrate the frozen chik’n strips. Throw in some seasonings: salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, crushed red pepper (’cause we like it spicy), Italian seasoning, and smoked paprika – then give it a good stir. Once the chik’n has softened up, use a spatula to chop the chik’n strips up into smaller pieces. Cook until veggies are soft, then remove from heat and set aside.

Drain your cooked pasta, but save about a 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Using the same pot you boiled your pasta in, pour the pasta water back in, add veggie stock, some oil, shredded mozzarella, and cream cheese over low-medium heat. Stir until all melted together, then add a little seasoning to the mix. I added a little more salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and Italian seasoning. Throw the veggies, pasta, and fresh basil into the pot with the sauce and give it a good stir.

Sprinkle green onions over the top and serve. Voila!

Ingredients:

• 1 small box of pasta of choice
• 1 small eggplant, chopped
• 1 small bag of sun-dried tomatoes – about a cup chopped (Note: the kind in the jar with oil would work fine too)
• 1 small carton of button mushrooms, chopped
• 6 tbsp. of oil (3 tbsp. for veggies, 3 tbsp. for sauce)
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
• 1 bunch green onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup pasta water, reserved from pasta
• 1 bag vegan chik’n strips (I used Morning Star brand)
• 1 cup vegan shredded mozzarella (I used Follow Your Heart brand)
• 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese (I used Kite Hill brand)
• 1 cup veggie stock
• 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper, optional
• 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Boil pasta in large pot according to package
2. Chop eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, green onion, and basil
3. In medium-sized skillet, heat 3 tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, minced garlic, and chik’n strips, then stir to coat in the oil
4. Then add about 2 tbsp. water to rehydrate chik’n
5. Add paprika, 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast, crush red pepper, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste, then stir
6. Cover and cook for approximately 7 minutes, stirring occasionally
7. Using spatula, break chik’n strips into smaller pieces
8. Once veggies are all softened, remove from heat and set aside
9. Drain pasta, but reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water
10. Add pasta water back to pot over low-medium heat, then add 3. remaining tbsp. of oil, mozzarella, cream cheese, veggie stock, Italian seasoning, remaining nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper to taste
11. Once sauce is all melted and combined, add veggies, pasta, and fresh basil to pot, then stir
12. Serve topped with chopped green onion