Modifying any cheese filled recipe can be a challenge, but I’ve found that parmesan always saves the day!

Ingredients:

6 oz jumbo pasta shells, cooked al dente (Barilla)

16 oz Tofutti Better Than Ricotta Cheese

3 cups parmesan, freshly grated

1 egg

1 can 28 oz crushed tomatoes

1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes

1 jar Trader Joe’s Arrabiata Sauce

1 lb Italian Sausage

1 sweet onion, diced

5 garlic cloves, sliced thick

6 oz baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt & ground pepper

Italian seasoning

parsley, dried or fresh

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine egg, “Better than Ricotta Cheese”, and 2 cups of parmesan. Set aside. In a large skillet, sauté garlic and onion with olive oil over medium heat until tender. Add mushrooms and sauté until lightly browned.  Add sausage and cook until browned. Add crushed and diced tomatoes, seasonings and stir to combine. Cover skillet and turn heat to low to simmer. Cook pasta according to directions, drain and pull shells apart. Let shells cool. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, spread at least one cup of sauce to cover bottom. Fill each shell with cheese mixture and place in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce, optional amount of marinara sauce and remaining parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes and serve immediately.

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Don’t forget to add love, it makes all the difference!

Who said lactose intolerants can’t have it all?! For me, this is the definition of winter cooking.

Ingredients:

6 thin cut chicken breasts

7 carrots, peeled and diced

1 sweet onion, diced

2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed

2 cups frozen peas, thawed

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups lactose free milk

2 refrigerated pie crust, each divided in half

1 egg white, beaten

2 tbsp lactose free butter (I used Smart Balance Original)

2 tbsp flour

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, sauté diced onions in drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Remove from skillet when onions translucent and set aside. Sauté carrots in same skillet with olive oil until tender. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add drizzle of olive oil and 3 chicken breasts to skillet over medium high heat. Cook evenly on both sides until cooked through and browned. Remove from skillet and cook last 3 chicken breasts. When chicken is cooled, cut into small bite sized chunks. Add butter to same skillet and melt over low heat. Whisk in flour slowly, 1 tbsp at a time. Once thickened, add in chicken stock over. Whisk together over medium heat and allow stock to reduce. Add in milk slowly, 1 cup at a time and whisking continuously. Simmer until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Add in onions, carrots, peas and chicken. Use ladle to divide into 4 ovenproof bowls. Cover each bowl with pie crust and use a knife to trim excess dough. Use a fork to crimp edges of crust and a knife to add 3 1/2 inch slits in center of pie. Brush each crust with egg wash. Place all bowls on baking sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes or until crust is browned.

Don’t forget to add love, it makes all the difference!