Baked Penne With Vegan Chorizo.

I’m not sure that I’ve mentioned to y’all that I’ve got a race coming up this weekend.  It’s my big one of the year, a half-Ironman, which lends itself to all sorts of emotional highs and lows the week prior.  (Right now, I’m at a high, so don’t worry, this post will be upbeat and civil!)

So with the big race in mind, I've elected to fuel myself nicely with carbs in advance.  That’s where tonight’s meal – baked penne with vegan chorizo – comes in!

This is certainly not the first time I’ve discussed this dish on these pages.  Baked penne (and its cousin, baked rotini) is a wonderful way to enjoy a hearty one-dish meal that has enough leftovers to last for days!  Paired with a glass of wine (or what-have-you), it’s a perfectly complete meal that’s at home at both a candlelit dinner for two and a relaxed game night with friends.  What can I say?  It’s a social butterfly who’s comfortable in any situation.

As I referenced earlier, I’m a little short on patience this week (see: emotional highs and lows).  So I needed to make something tonight that offered me a quick win.  Yet again, baked penne fit the bill!  All I had to do was boil and drain the pasta, pour it into a lasagna pan, and mix the noodles with a jar of spaghetti sauce, sliced vegan chorizo, and mushroom slices.  Top everything with a bit of Daiya mozzarella, bake at 350 for 25 minutes or so, and voila!  It was time to carb-load.

And carb-load we did!  LeeLee joined me, even though he’s not racing this weekend – solidarity means a lot!  And we’ve still got half a pan (or more) left for lunch tomorrow.  A win-win!

:)