Slutty Low-Carb “Pasta”

Slutty Low-Carb “Pasta”

 

I have been seeing recipes all over Pinterest that require the use of a tool that cuts veggies into spiral noodles. I gave in and bought one months ago, yet it sits in my kitchen in the original packaging begging to be used. Well…until tonight that is! I was inspired by a recipe I pinned on my Lighter Fare board. I went to the grocery store with my weekly menu in hand and when I came home, I couldn’t wait to get started on my creation.

 

This is a low carb, sugar free, delicious meal that combines delicious veggies, ground turkey and a little bit of heat. The outcome ….. I can’t even tell you how good this was.  The name for this recipe is pulled from the inspiration recipe on pinterest. Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is an old school Italian recipe that translates into “spaghetti a la whore”. The name works and it’s catchy so I decided to keep it.

 

So let’s get started. This was enough for me to have dinner and lunch the next day.

2 ripe zucchini’s

97% fat free ground turkey (I used ½ pound)

Olive Oil

½ cup diced red bell pepper

¼ cup diced yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon capers

Pine nuts

Lemon juice

15oz can of fire roasted tomatoes, diced (not drained)

Seasonings

 

To start, brown your ground turkey in a pan (add a touch of olive oil if the meat sticks to your pan). Season with sea salt, pepper, dehydrated onion and garlic powder. Add in red bell pepper and onions and cook until turkey is cooked through and veggies are translucent. Toss in a handful of pine nuts and cook for a few minutes to sort of toast them. Add in garlic and capers, cook for a few more minutes.  Add the can of tomatoes and turn up the heat to medium high. Once the skillet is pretty hot, squirt some fresh lemon juice around the inside edge of the pan and stir. I love adding lemon to tomato sauces/mixtures because it really brightens up the flavor of the veggies. Turn down to medium and let simmer while you cut the zucchini noodles.

 

Use your spiral veggie cutter to cut 2 zucchinis (wash and dry them first). Once the sauce is hot and bubbly, I add just a pinch of red pepper flakes and toss. Put your “noodles” in a bowl, top with a few ladles full of the tomato sauce and garnish with parmesan cheese.

 

You could add other veggies as you see fit. Mushrooms would be delightful, other bell peppers, asparagus even. The possibilities are endless. Then you could change up the spices to make the flavor completely different.

 

 

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3 Cheese Tortellini Alfredo with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Asparagus, and Roasted Red Peppers

Wow, that's a mouthful. But please don't let the title deter you from trying this incredibly easy, quick and delicious recipe.

I'm not feeling particularly 'wordy' today but I had several people comment on my facebook post asking for this recipe. I'll get right to the point so that I please their hungry tummy's!

3 Cheese Tortellini Alfredo with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Asparagus,
and Roasted Red Peppers

2 Medium Chicken Breasts

1 Large Red Bell Pepper, thick sliced

1 Bag Frozen 3 Cheese Tortellini (I bag I used served 5)

1 Jar Alfredo Sauce (Or your favorite recipe for one)

1/4 C. 2% milk

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 bunch Asparagus, chopped in 1 inch pieces

1/4 C. Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese, Shredded

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Herb Seasoning

1) Heat oven to 450 Degrees. Also bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

2)  Place sliced red bell peppers in a glass dish. Drizzle a little olive oil over the peppers and toss. Sprinkle some sea salt on the peppers and place in the oven. Roasting will be complete in about 15 minutes.

3) Once water is boiling, cook tortellini according to directions. Drain when done, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder (just a bit).

4) In the meantime, place chicken breasts in a skillet over medium heat. Season both sides with garlic herb seasoning and cook until chicken is almost cooked. Remove from pan and set aside. After the chicken has rested for about 10 minutes, slice against the grain into slices (about an inch thick)

5) In the skillet you cooked the chicken in, add the alfredo sauce, milk and garlic cloves. Allow to come to a slight boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 8-9 minutes. Add in sliced chicken and asparagus and turn heat onto medium to bring to a low boil again. Keep stirring and allow it to boil slowly to finish cooking the chicken breasts and asparagus, about 3 minutes.

6) When red peppers are done roasting, place on a cutting board and cut into big chunks. Add to the alfredo sauce. Add mozzarella cheese to the sauce, give a good stir and cook for 1-2 minutes.

7) To serve, put tortellini on a plate or in a bowl and top with a good helping of the sauce.

*I had this for leftovers at lunch today and it was DELICIOUS! Would be a good sauce to add red pepper flakes to to add a little bit of heat*

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Lightened Up, Kicked up Baked Pasta

If you're like me, a simple pasta dish is always a great meal to have on deck for those busy week nights. But all too often for me, I have hopes of something being delicious and it falls short of my expectations. I adapted this recipe from one I saw on a recipe site that I frequent...a lot. It's probably considered stalking at this point lol. But it looked delicious and easy and I just needed to give it a try. From start to finish this dish took about 35-45 minutes (and most of that time was in the oven

The verdict: IT WAS AWESOME!!! It simply was awesome. And even better for leftovers the next day. And since its lightened up, you won't find yourself having to run 121 miles to burn it off. I hope you enjoy!!

Lightened Up, Kicked up Baked Pasta

 

1/4 C. Parmesan Cheese

8 oz. Fat Free Ricotta

8 oz Part Skim shredded Mozzarella Cheese

13 oz Hot Italian Sausage, casings removed

Box of high fiber Penne Pasta

Olive Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic, chopped

6-8 Cups fresh Kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

Salt and Pepper

1 1/2 jars of your favorite Marinara Sauce

1) Preheat your oven to 375 Degrees. Using your Misto (or favorite cooking spray), spray a glass casserole dish

2) Cook your noodles according to package directions, but remove 4 minutes before they would be Al Dente

3) In a medium bowl, combine together the Ricotta and half the mozzarella cheese and half of the parmesan cheese.

4) While your noodles are cooking, heat a deep skillet on medium high heat. Add the sausage and break up into rough pieces until it is cooked. Remove from pan and set aside. Using a little bit of the grease from the sausage, sauté the garlic for a minute or two. Add in the kale, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 8 minutes. If you use spinach you will only need to cook it for a minute or two. Add the sausage back into the pan and add the marinara sauce. Cook on low for about 5 minutes to incorporate all of these wonderful flavors.

5) Once the noodles are done, drain them and place half of them in the glass casserole dish. Use a little less than half of your sauce mixture and coat the noodles then top them with the ricotta mixture. Then add in the remainder of the noodles and use the rest of the sauce to coat those. Top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese that you set aside and cover with aluminum foil.

6) Bake for about 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 8-10 minutes to melt the cheese.

When I serve this, I garnish it with a little bit more parmesan cheese and some red pepper flakes.



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