Quick Dinner: Rabbit Pasta

I have been eating Annie's "rabbit" pasta since middle school. It was one of those easy-to-prepare foods that my mom let us cook when we were home alone. It sustained me through my high school swim team days and I turn to it now when I need something quick to cook.

All I do it follow the instructions on the box, substituting the milk for soymilk, and make sure to add in some additional ingredients to make it seem like my dinner did not come out of a box. Here are my favorites: Peace Pasta, Shells & White Cheddar, Shells and Real Aged Cheddar, and Alfredo Shells & Cheddar. See a full list of all Annie's Homegrown products here.

Now these are not dairy-free and Annie's does not have any vegan products, but substituting soymilk definitely helps on keeping the dairy levels low. I have a couple of favorite combos that all start with any of the above pastas.

1. broccoli and peas (fresh or frozen) - I always keep frozen veggies expressly for this purpose

2. tuna and broccoli - tuna can be a life-saver so I keep a couple of cans of chunked tuna in water in the pantry

3. chopped kale (or spinach) and edamame succotash - fall and winter months bring loads of kale in my CSA box. Since I cannot consume all of it fresh I braise or steam it, package it in plastic sandwich bags, and throw it in the freezer. Edamame succotash is a mix of edamame beans, corn, and roasted red peppers (pick some up at Whole Foods or Trader Joes).

N.B. I tried an Annie's SKILLET pasta mix the other day. Even with some serious tweaking - cooking up some onions, green peppers, and vegan protein ground meat - it was terrible. So bad in fact that TEB said even he would not even taste it. I was more willing to give it a try, probably b/c I put time into making it. It was bland and mushy. I ended up throwing the whole thing out.