Quick, Creamy Protein Pasta

/

I don't know about you guys, but, dinners need to be made in a flash these days. Sox in the ALCS and now the World Series (Whoo!) at 7:30pm every night calls for some quick dinners or take-out. The meal I made tonight takes basically no prep time and can be made in between commercials breaks! Oh, and it's pasta (so it's comforting for all this stress) AND it's JAM PACKED with PROTEIN and other health benefits.

I needed some serious recovery fuel after boxing tonight and this meal has got it all. 

It took all of 23 minutes and that includes the time it took to wait for the water to start to boil.

Yup, it's late. The game's already on and I'm  s t a r v i n g g g.

Need: Barilla Protein Plus Pasta, Organic Cottage Cheese, Garlic, Lemon Rind/Juice, Arugula, Crushed Red Pepper, Extra Virgin o/o, Salt, & Parmesan. Cottage Cheese has 15g of Protein in every half cup! Barilla Protein Plus has 10g of Protein for every 2 oz. Arugula is high in vitamins C, A, & K and also minerals iron, calcium, and potassium. Garlic is a superfood... mega antioxidant, high in selenium, manganese, B6, C, and calcium.

Get your ingredients ready in a saute pan: garlic, extra virgin, crushed red, lemon juice, salt, and crushed red pepper.

While the pasta is boiling. Turn on that saute pan and get the sauce heated up. Once the pasta is fully cooked, add it to the pan and toss on some cottage cheese. I know it seems weird, but, the cottage cheese melts down and it creates a really creamy protein-rich sauce.

Mix it up and then add in the arugula. Be generous, it softens down to tiny pieces (you could also use baby spinach). 

Toss on some Parmesan and mix it up. 

23 minute later and you're done! Easy easy.

Top it with a little more Parmesan and Lemon Rind and enjoy!

 

Have an awesome week! xo

Butternut Squash & Rosemary Protein Pasta

/

Fall is here! I must say that even though Summer in the north east was well... short. Fall has been absolutely perfect. I can't remember the last time we had such perfect Fall days.   As we know, I like to take advantage of seasonal fruits and veg. Squashes of all shapes and sizes are the perfect staple for any meal. Spaghetti squash is my favorite, but, who has time to make that on a week night? Tonight, I whipped up a quick (protein-packed) dish with pre-cut butternut squash.

Now, usually if you take a spin around a cookbook or Pinterest you'll find butternut squash meals with sage, sage, and more sage. Now, sage and butternut squash are the perfect marriage, like peanut butter & jelly, but, I didn't have that in my kitchen tonight so I turned to my old friend, Rosemary (she's so good to me).

 

Chop butternut squash and rosemary into small pieces. Drizzle with extra virgin o/o, salt, & pepper and stick on a parchment lined baking sheet in a 425 degree oven. (the smaller the pieces - the faster it cooks)

Chop up two cloves of garlic and throw in a extra virgin o/o pan with organic chicken. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Leave some of the garlic behind and chop up some goat cheese. Set aside. 

Throw (Barilla protein plus) pasta in the pot when the squash has been in the oven for about 10 minutes. Then, cook the pasta for ten and finish up the chicken (little less than 10 mins on med heat).

Drain the pasta about 90-95% (a little pasta water is good) and add all of the ingredients: goat cheese, a little more chopped rosemary, the remaining garlic, extra virgin o/o. salt, pepper, and sunflower seeds. Mix it up and serve! 

Ah, and don't drop half of the squash in the sink like I did..................... (see how most of it is missing) Sigh.

So, I made a quick little instagram video that walks through the entire process... HERE.  Even though I dropped most of my beautifully cooked squash in the sink - this was still REALLY good. Loaded with protein and a, c, b's, and fiber from the squash.  The goat cheese adds a nice bite, too. Who says butternut squash's only friend is Sage? She's cool, but, Rosemary works just as well. 

Have an awesome week! 

Crispy Eggplant Provolone

/

First, I love eggplant. 

Second, I had no idea how good this meal was going to be until I took my first bite.  Perfectly crispy on the outside and really juicy on the inside. It tastes so unhealthy... but it's nottt! Yum. (yeah, there's grilled chicken there too, but, the focus is on eggplant tonight)

This is easyyy... and could definitely be made as an appetizer instead of an accompaniment to a meal... either way!

1. Slice eggplant into 1/4 discs and then in half, then drizzle with extra virgin o/o.

2. Dip and coat in egg. 

3. Mix together panko and herbs de provence (these should be an herb staple in your house). I used whole wheat panko and white panko. The whole wheat version is actually super bland so if I go to use it - I always mix it with the white. White is FINE if that's all you have!

4. Coat the eggplant in the panko mixture and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. 

4.   Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes, flip them and bake for another 7 minutes (can drizzle a little more extra virgin, if necessary) then take 1-2 slices of provolone, tear it into pieces and place on top of eggplant. Bake for another 3 minutes.

(So, I broke the rules and used Provolone instead of Parmesan on my eggplant, don't be afraid to break the rules!) 

While the eggplant's bakin' and the chicken's grillin'... mix up a pesto-like mixture in the food processor: basil, garlic, parmesan, feta, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and salt is what I used tonight. Classic pesto would also be good. Mix it up and lightly pour it over the top of the entire meal ( a little goes a long way).

Serve it up and you're done. This would be a great vegetarian meal (sans the chicken), a great app with the pesto dipping sauce, or as I had it tonight, as dinner! 

Have a great weekend! xo