Super Fast & Easy Soyrizo Pasta Dinner

So I admit it. I burnt myself out. if you know me in person -- you know that me admitting this is a huge deal.After years of working 40 hours a week in the animal rights movement and writing this blog and then writing our book and now starting our second book... Im exhausted. There was also a slight shift in this blog that was unintentional but after taking a little break from posting regularly I can see pretty clearly. See in the beginning this blog was about our mission to make anything and everything vegan but as this blog became more popular and more and more people who I didnt know and who have never eaten any of my food began to read this thing -- well there was this pressure for lack of a better word -- to not have typos and never admit that that I burnt a cookie or that a recipe was anything less than a cruelty-free dream come true.I neurotically tested and tested recipes for the book and I tried to keep up with all the emails we get and failed. Somewhere in all this I started to feel like a little rock was sitting on my chest. I started to stay up late worrying that people wont like our book and worry that people wouldnt read it and understand that Betty Goes Vegan is full of great weekday standbys, old family favorites and guilt-less pleasures. Its also about helping people use all these great vegan products out there to their full potential. I mean yes a lot of us are DIY types but most people in our society choose their food based on convenience, cost and flavor. Ive been doing vegan outreach for over 20 years now and I keep hearing the same reasons why people were reluctant to go vegan : giving up their favorite dishes, weird food and inconvenient. The reasons I keep hearing why people stopped being vegan : giving up their favorite dishes, weird food and inconvenient. Thats why Betty Goes Vegan is carefully designed to not just help people go vegan but stay vegan by turning old meaty and cheesy favorites into vegan classics. Yeah. Ive lost a lot of sleep lately over it. It can be scary to put yourself out there and care about things. But there was a few things that have happened lately.The Tacos Photo Credit : Hannah Banana BakerI read this post by Bonsai Aphrodite. See after 3 years (just like us) she also was dealing with a serious case of burn out. I related more than I liked to almost every line of this post and after reading it had this moment when I asked myself why something I love as much as this blog wasnt making myself deliriously happy. So I remembered why I fell in love with this blog and vegan outreach to begin with. A vegan bakery named The Hannah Banana Bakery in the UK posted photos of our Thai Lemongrass Tofu Tacos and I started to cry a little. I have no idea why I get so excited when you guys send me pictures but it made me think over my morning tea and inspired me to write this long post and to get back to sharing that joy with all of you!So here I am sharing with you a dinner we had the other night that is super simple and fast. So you know less time in your hot kitchen. It also features Tofurkys new vegan Chorizo style grounds but you can also use your favorite vegan soyrizo product if you cant find the Tofurky grounds in your area yet. I do recommend enjoying this with a salad. I try to get greens in every meal and this recipe lacks greens. Besides that... Its a pretty much a perfect weekday dinner.Im also promising that Im giving up my little rock of doubt and fear... insecurity and getting back to posting on a regular basis. Im trading in that rock for hope and not taking myself so seriously... and soyrizo pasta dinners.OK enough gabbing. Lets eat!Soyrizo Pasta Dinner 1 Package Gemelli or Macaroni (cooked per instructions on the package)2 Cups Soyrizo1 28oz Can Diced Tomatoes with Basil1 14oz Can Garbanzo Beans (drained and rinsed)1 Tablespoon Olive Oil 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder1 teaspoon CuminFresh Cilantro (chopped for a topping) Hot Sauce (optional) Prepare your Pasta per instructions on the package.In your neglected cast iron skillet, heat your Olive Oil over medium heat. Once your oil is hot, toss in your Soyrizo and Garbanzo Bean and mix. Once your Soyrizo starts to light brown, add your Tomatoes and Cumin and mix. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook until the mixture becomes saucy and thickens a bit.Serve hot over your Pasta and with some Cilantro and Hot Sauce over the top.And not to be too pushy but be sure and make a batch of Limeade to go with it!