Meatless Monday

My husband I commute over 45 minutes each way for work. I try to use slow cooker, or fondly called crockpot, recipes as often as I can to speed up dinner preparations. We use a light timer to set the crockpot to turn on at the correct time. For example, this recipe says cook on low 3 1/2 hours so I would set it at 2:30pm to be ready at 6pm.

Today I used a recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Roberston.

Slow Cooker Ziti Casserole
I have made a few adaptations based on the ingredients I had on hand and how I like to cook.

2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced OR 2 Tablespoons of minced garlic from a jar
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 garden vegetable burgers, crumbled
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 T dried basil, I used a bit more I like lots of seasoning
salt and pepper
10 oz of uncooked penne pasta, or whatever you like

Start with the onion, and put all ingredients in the slow cooker, except the pasta. Drizzle the olive oil in and mix well.

Add the uncooked pasta - you can cook the pasta and add it to the mixture the last 30 minutes of cooking time.

Note: If preparing the night before, add the pasta the next morning so it does not soak up all the liquid and become mushy. (I prefer to add it into the slow cooker, it makes my dinner prep faster when I get home)

Cook on low 3 1/2 hours.

Serve with cheese of choice and sprinkle with parsley.
Add garlic and a salad and you've got a meal!

Husband's Review: "It was tasty!"
My Review: Adding some mushrooms would be a good enhancement.