Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Broccoli

January may be long and over, but hopefully those New Year's resolutions have not completely gone out the window just yet. I, for one, have not had the greatest of willpower over the last month, but I'm trying hard to get back on track. It's just really unfortunate that chocolate tastes so much better than say, brussel sprouts.

Aside from obvious taste preferences, though, my biggest problem these days is time. I'm busy! Sometimes I just don't have time to cook a healthy meal. Or if I do have time, I completely lack the energy... we've all been there. Or, I get sick and spend three days straight laid up on my couch wanting to die, which is how I spent most of last week. So, unfortunately, we spend more nights than we really should ordering in pizza or Chinese food from our favorite restaurant down the street. Sometimes it's just too easy to let someone else do the work for me, even if the options aren't always that healthful.

But this pasta kind of invalidates all of those excuses. It comes together in a matter of minutes, with very little effort. I'd wager that you could make this in less time than it would take that Chinese take-out to get to your house. And it's healthy without tasting like diet food. It's packed with flavor, but not with calories! If you've never had sun-dried tomatoes, you're really missing out... they add a wonderful savory-sweetness to just about any dish, and they pair amazingly well with a little pesto and broccoli. Add some creamy cannelini beans for protein and you've got yourself a delicious, guiltless, vegetarian meal in under 20 minutes. Beat that, delivery boy!

So who's ready to jump back on that healthy-eating bandwagon, huh?

Sesame-Ginger Pork with Soba Noodles

These days, I'm almost always in a hurry.

But, of course, so are you.

We're all busy.

And busy people like us need fast food.

And not just fast food... but good food.

Food that tastes good, and is good.

Food to keep us going, so we can stay busy.

Hello lovely.

This bowl of goodness is just what the doctor ordered.

It's fast... takes less than 30 minutes, in fact.

It tastes good... really good, actually. Toasty sesame oil, spicy ginger, fresh cilantro, salty, succulent, irresistible sauce over totally slurpable noodles and juicy pork... hungry yet?

And it is good. At only 415 calories per serving, it'll fill you up without slowing you down. You know... so you can stay busy.

Make it. Eat it. Love it. Go!

Rigatoni with Squash and Shrimp

Forgive me for yet another 2 week hiatus friends. I promise... this will not be a regular occurrence. You see, the problem is, I've been feeling a little less than inspired these days. The desire to cook is still very much alive and well. I've cooked many inspiring meals in the last couple of weeks, in fact. But with life being busy as usual and with daylight only sticking around until 4:30 or 5 these days, photos don't always get taken and posts don't get written, and well... the rest is history. And I won't lie... there are many other projects with my new house - and my newfound freedom from academia! - that I'd rather be working on. But sometimes you just have to push through, right? Blogging is good for me, and I'm not ready to give it up yet.

And this recipe is a great place to draw some inspiration. Just when winter food begins to feel heavy and stale, this dish takes winter produce and gives it a refreshingly light spin. The butternut squash transforms into a luxurious, velvety sauce that seems 10 times more decadent than it actually is. It gives the illusion of creaminess without the caloric punch, which is, especially this time of year, a huge bonus. Even my self-proclaimed squash-hating husband loved this dish! Of course, I didn't really tell him it had squash in it until he had finished his whole plate, but whatever. Feel free to let your picky eaters go on believing that it's cheese sauce... they'll never know any better. :)

If you've been following TLC for a while you've probably noticed that I don't cook a whole lot of seafood. That's because neither the boy nor I are huge fans - Dane more so than myself. I do happen to love shrimp, so I went ahead and prepared this dish with the shrimp as directed for myself, but I served his pasta with grilled sirloin steak instead and found both ways to be very satisfying. And either option is still diet-friendly! But if red meat or seafood aren't your thing, feel free to sub in some grilled chicken or forego the meat altogether. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs

While the rest of the world feels like baking sweet cookies and pies, autumn makes me crave savory food. The cool air and gloomy skies make me want to spend all day making soup and bread. Stick-to-your-ribs kind of food... comfort food.

Well we've had plenty of that cool and gloom since October hit... it's rained ten out of the fourteen days we've had so far. Is it sick that I love it? Sometimes I think I should move to Seattle, because I'm happiest in a hooded sweatshirt with the fresh smell of rain in the air. Give me a warm latte and an umbrella, and I'll spend more time outside this time of year than during the summer. I'm an autumn girl, through and through.

This is a perfect autumn pasta dish. It's a great way to use up any straggling tomatoes left over from summer's bounty, and the hearty chicken meatballs give it amazing savory flavor. Plus there are three different kinds of cheese in it. Like gratuitous amounts of cheese. How can you say no to that? And well, you know me... I love any excuse to eat pasta. With a warm, broth-based sauce, hearty chicken meatballs, and melty mozzarella cheese, it's almost as comforting as a big bowl of soup!

Spinach-Stuffed Shells

Is it weird that I'm a 22 year-old food-lover, who has a blog that's almost a year old, and I have never until this week tried stuffed shells? It's not that I haven't wanted to... this recipe (in one form or another) has been on my mind for years. I've seen countless recipes, countless mouth-watering photos, countless claims of heavenly flavor and consistency... why oh why has it taken me so long to try this dish?

Well let's just say, friends... I think I have a new favorite meal.

I've always been a big fan of lasagna. Starchy pasta, creamy cheese, gratuitous amounts of tomato-y, basil-y, galric-y marinara... what's not to love? And, after perusing the ingredients lists on most of the recipes I found, I wondered how much different stuffed shells could be from lasagna. Not that it really needed to be different. After all, I do love me some lasagna.

But somehow these are different. In the same way that calzones and pizza are comprised of essentially the same things but somehow totally crave-able in completely different ways. But, most importantly, stuffed shells are different from lasagna in an amazing, I-could-eat-this-every-night-of-the-week kind of way. Not kidding folks... new favorite meal, right here. :)

Pasta with Proscuitto & Peas

I love recipes that require a little simmering time. I'm a huge multi-tasker - verging on ADD sometimes, but don't tell anyone - and I'll frequently find any excuse to step away from the stove, even for just a moment to look at or do something else. So I love when I get to prep a few ingredients, get them simmering beautifully, and walk away. It feels like a little surprise, to suddenly have an extra half hour or more to fritter away on facebook accomplish important things.

But what I love more than my extra free time, is the amazing, tastes-like-I-slaved-all-day-over-a-hot-stove flavor that usually results. It's almost like the recipe agrees to keep my secret about that whole time away from the stove thing, like a good friend who'll keep your economics teacher from finding out that you totally cut class. What they don't know won't hurt 'em, right?

And trust me, your secret is totally safe with this recipe. With knock-your-socks-off full-bodied flavor, no one will know you only put about 15 minutes worth of work into it. All anyone will know is that they want to eat it again and again. ...and that's what it's all about. :)

Spaghetti Carbonara

Cristina Ferrare is a woman after my own heart. As you may remember, I have a serious addiction to pasta. And apparently so does she, because there are 15 pasta recipes in her cookbook. Pasta has it's own section... like it its own food group or something. Does anyone else think it ought to be?

I also have a serious mad on for bacon. So of course I got a little excited when I saw the ingredients list for this recipe. My two favorite things in one dish... I knew it had to be good. And oh boy was it. So good the boy didn't even complain about the peas (which were actually a very nice complement to the salty bacon and tender pasta). And so good that everyone at work the next day was a little envious of my leftovers when I took them for lunch... always a good sign, right? Plus, for a creamy sauce, it was surprisingly light and didn't make me feel like I needed to throw my sweatpants on when I was done. An all around winner in my book.

So thanks, Cristina, for feeding my pasta addiction. I love you. :)

Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, and White Beans

Is there anything better than roasted garlic? If there is, someone please introduce me because I need to try it. NOW.

In the meantime, I'll go on believing that if heaven exists, it must be overflowing with roasted garlic, basil, and Parmesan cheese. I simply cannot imagine a better combination of flavors.

It's no wonder I couldn't wait to try this recipe.

Now I know I said the other day that I don't really like tomatoes... but this recipe just might make me change my mind. Roasting the tomatoes under high heat completely changes them, into something velvety and very sweet. Seriously... they just about melt in your mouth. Combined with the creamy cannellini beans and the pungent roasted garlic... and the nutty pasta and the fresh, aromatic basil... it's basically heaven on a plate. Give it a try and you'll understand why this recipe just jumped into my top five favorites.

Pasta with Fresh Roma Tomato Sauce

I wish I could say I liked tomatoes. Every summer I watch so many people revel in the flavor of sun-ripened tomatoes, juicy and plump and fresh. They look so good... nestled amongst fresh mozzarella and basil in a caprese salad, or the crown jewel atop a juicy grilled burger. But I just can't do it. Well, at least not raw. But I do love them cooked! I love them stewed and added to a warm winter soup, roasted with garlic and served over crusty bread, or cooked down and pureed into a lovely sauce...

...such as this one.

If you're like many people at this time of the summer, you've probably got a garden overflowing with tomatoes. Consider yourself lucky, as my humble little apartment does not afford me the pleasure of a garden.   But no matter. The point is, you should definitely make this sauce. It's a great way to use up some of those overabundant vegetables, and it's downright delicious. Imagine, Roma tomatoes, naturally sweet in their own right, simmered down until they are soft and succulent, together with summer sweet carrots, pungent onion, and earthy celery. Can you smell it? Now add a little white wine - go ahead, pour some for yourself too - and simmer away until the sauce is rendered luscious and sweet. Pour over your favorite pasta, sprinkle on a little Parmesan cheese and some fresh basil, and prepare to be amazed. All that flavor with no extra seasonings? Really? Really. It's really that simple. And that delicious.

Pasta Primavera

I'm sure you're all probably sick of muffin recipes by now, but don't worry, I have the perfect recipe to offer in relief. You guys probably already know that I'm a sucker for pasta. I'm usually not a huge carb-oholic (unlike my sister) - I can easily pass up bread or rice, but put a plate of pasta in front of me and it's over. Especially if it's sinful fettuccine alfredo. But with all the healthy veggies and the light sauce in this dish, I didn't feel an ounce of guilt over eating it. Whole wheat noodles add nutrition and a light nutty texture, and all the veggies add a nice crunch as well as fresh, spring-time flavor. "Primavera" means "spring" in both Spanish and Italian, and the beautiful spring colors and flavors definitely help this dish live up to its name! I'm sad to say I hadn't eaten any asparagus yet this spring until I made this, and I loved having it in this dish. You could easily substitute green beans if you're not a fan of asparagus, but try it this way at least once... the boy claims to be an asparagus-hater but he ate every vegetable in this dish without complaint. This is definitely going on the favorites list... give it a try and I bet it will wind up on yours too!

Linguine with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

People who swear off carbs are crazy. :)

It's a well-known fact... I love pasta. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm secretly Italian, nevermind what my family tree actually says, haha. So the thought of giving up pasta to lose weight... well, that's beyond unimaginable. Not to be dramatic, but if being skinny means giving up pasta, I don't want to be skinny. Lucky for me, it seems that Ellie Krieger agrees. There are 15 different pasta recipes in her book! ...it probably doesn't surprise anyone that the two recipes I've tried so far have both been out of this category. :)

The sauce for this recipe is simply delightful. It's amazing how creamy it is considering that it doesn't actually contain any cream! The roasted red pepper flavor just sings, and the feta is a surprising accent. As a dedicated omnivore I wondered if I'd miss having meat on my plate, but I added a little spinach to for an extra dose of veggies and found that the portion of pasta was more than enough. I'm definitely looking forward to making this again!

Pasta with Kale, White Beans, and Turkey Sausage

I don't believe in "dieting."

Don't get me wrong... I've been on my fair share of diets before, and all of them seemed to be very effective while I was on them.

But that's the thing - who can stick to a crazy restrictive diet? Not this food-lover, for sure. Inevitably we all fall off the bandwagon and go back to our old eating habits and wind up weighing the same if not more than we did before we started the stupid diet.

I do, on the other hand, believe in eating well.

Yes, I'd like to be skinny for my wedding, but I'm not going to crash-diet to do it. I'm ready to find a way of eating that provides a healthy balance of nourishment and pleasure. I, like most of us, already know what kinds of foods I should be eating - more veggies, fruits, and whole grains, and less of the fatty and sugary stuff. Lucky for me, I actually really like fruits, veggies, and whole grains, and I'd love to find ways to incorporate more of these into my meals. Most research indicates that preparing meals at home is the healthiest way to eat too, and I'm already doing that. So... I already know how to eat healthier. I already know how to cook. All I need is someone to show me how to cook healthier.

Why hello, Ellie. :)

I've been a fan of Ellie Krieger for a while. I love her food network show, and I love the fact that she's a registered dietitian. But what I love most about her is her holistic approach to eating. It's not about counting calories or banning certain foods with Ellie - it's about eating real food that is as enjoyable as it is nutritious. Basically - it's about eating the way we were intended to eat.

So, when Dane bought me her cookbook (The Food You Crave) for Valentine's Day, I was very, very excited. So much so that I sat down to bookmark the recipes I wanted to try...

...and wound up bookmarking almost the entire book. :)

This pasta recipe is one of the first I've tried out of this cookbook, and it lived up to every expectation I had. I had to make a few changes based on what I could find at my grocery store, but it still turned out every bit as delicious as I had hoped! I couldn't find Italian chicken sausage or escarole like the recipe called for... so I substituted low-fat turkey breakfast sausage with just a touch of Italian seasoning, and kale instead. I was a little wary at first that 6 ounces of sausage might not be enough meat for four servings - especially the way my boy likes to eat - , but even such a small amount added so much flavor that I certainly didn't miss it. The combination of onion, garlic, sage, sausage, and chicken broth created this light little sauce that made this dish truly to die for. If this is how the whole book is, I can't wait to try more!