Italian

Italian Pasta Bake

/ ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

MozzarellaItalian Pasta Bake | Life Healthfully Lived that isn’t really mozzarella.  Confusing I know, but totally awesome.  There are tons of recipes out there for fake cheese as well as plenty of products that you can buy.  My issue with store bought “cheese” is that it’s usually full of ingredients that I would rather not ingest.

I’ve made cheese sauce before for my Fusilli N’ Cheeze, but I wanted to make a cheese that was a little thicker.  My goal?  To try and recreate the mostaccioli that Adam made for me when we first started dating.Italian Pasta Bake | Life Healthfully Lived

About a month or so into our relationship, Adam decided he was going to cook for me.  He made me his mom’s mostaccioli and it was delicious.  It was super simple, but watching him make that meal for me was one of the first times that I started to fall in love with him.  When I stopped eating gluten and dairy, mostaccioli kind of went out the window. But not anymore!

Don’t be freaked out by making “cheese” that isn’t really cheese.  It isn’t difficult and there really aren’t any weird ingredients unless you think tapioca starch is weird. It isn’t.  It’s just a thickener and helps make this cheese stretchy.  You could also use potato starch, but I like tapioca better.  Once you make the cheese, this is a really fast meal and a great one to prep early and pull out for a quick weeknight meal.

Not-Mozzarella, Mozzarella Italian Pasta Bake | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in warm water overnight
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp roasted garlic
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 1/2 tbsp tapioca starch (or potato starch)
  • 1 cup hot water
  1. Add everything to a blender and blend for 2 to 3 minutes until it is completely smooth.
  2. Pour the mixture into a medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat.  Cook while constantly stirring.  After a few minutes, the mixture will start to thicken.
  3. Turn the heat to low and keep stirring it until it is very thick and stretchy.  You can use it right away or keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Italian Pasta BakeItalian Pasta Bake | Life Healthfully Lived

  • 1 batch of Not-Mozzarella, Mozzarella
  • 1 batch of my tomato sauce
  • 1 package of gluten-free pasta, I used brown rice shells
  1. Preheat oven to 350.  Cook your pasta according to the directions on the package.  Drain and set aside.
  2. Get a 9 x 13 casserole dish and spoon a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom.  Next, put a layer of pasta and then top with tomato sauce.  Spread some of the cheese on top of that.
  3. Keep layering the pasta, sauce, and cheese until it’s gone.  Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven and take off the foil.  Cook for another 5 minutes until the cheese on top is starting to brown on the edges.
  5. Take out of the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before you serve it.Italian Pasta Bake | Life Healthfully Lived

Butternut Spinach Gnudi

/ ktbuchs87

Butternut Spinach Gnudi

Have you ever heard of gnudi? Don’t worry I hadn’t either until a little while ago.  It’s kind of like the big brother of gnocchi (also pronounced with a silent “G”) and it’s delicious.  I saw a recipe for it in the Clean Eating magazine and at first I dismissed it as too time consuming to make.  Then I had a free Saturday and decided to see if I could tackle the gnudi.  I changed a few things, put my own spin on it and while it does take a little bit of time to put together, it isn’t as hard to make as I thought it would be.

I love the dumpling-like texture of this dish.  It’s filling but not too heavy especially topped with a fresh tomato sauce, plus it gets in all the good nutrients that come with spinach and butternut squash.

If you aren’t like me and don’t have 10 lbs of butternut squash in your freezer you can substitute canned butternut squash or pumpkin instead.  Also, make sure to leave enough time for the gnudi to rest in the refrigerator before you cook them or else they will fall apart in the hot water.

Onto the gnudi!

Butternut Spinach Gnudi- adapted from Clean Eating’s Ricotta, Spinach & Sweet Potato Gnudi

Butternut Spinach Gnudi

  • 1 cup pureed butternut squash (or canned pumpkin)
  • 6 tbsp aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas)
  • 1 cup cashew ricotta
  • 2/3 cup almond meal
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup chopped spinach (frozen or fresh, I used frozen and just made sure it was thawed)
  • 4 1/2 cup brown rice flour
  • 1 batch of my tomato sauce or your favorite store bought sauce (make sure to check the label!)
  1. In a large bowl, whisk the 6 tbsp of aquafaba until it’s frothy.  Then whisk in the cashew ricotta, almond meal, and all the seasonings.
  2. Once that is all well combined mix in the spinach and fold in the butternut squash.  Sprinkle in 1/2 cup of the brown rice flour and stir to combine.
  3. Spread out 2 cups of the brown rice flour onto a large baking sheet.  Using your hands, form the butternut mix into medium sized balls, about the size of a golf ball.  Place the balls onto the baking sheet and repeat until all the mixture is used up.  Cover the balls with the remaining flour and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
  4. Warm up your tomato sauce in a medium saucepan.  Once the balls have set, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Working in batches of 4-5 balls, gently immerse them into the boiling water and cook until they float to the top.  Remove from the water and set aside until all the gnudi is cooked.
  5. Plate a few of the gnudi and top with tomato sauce.  You can also sprinkle a little parmesan cheese or my vegan version.

Butternut Squash Gnudi

Yes it looks like a lot and it looks like it will take forever and you wonder if I think you’re an Italian grandmother who has nothing to do but make gnudi.  Trust me you can do this and it isn’t that hard.  Plus you’ll be rewarded with a delicious healthy meal that will have everyone coming back for seconds.  So give it a try, you might just surprise yourself!

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you have an awesome weekend!