I am a magazine junkie- I subscribe to at least 5 food magazines and love them all! However, the one I have subscribed to the longest, and is still my favorite, is Cooking Light. I can’t tell you how many their recipes I have tried- an insane amount and they are all fabulous. Last week for Lenten Friday I decided to do a couple vegetarian pasta dishes and this dish inspired from Cooking Light was delicious and so simple- Fettuccine with Seared Tomatoes, Spinach and Goat Cheese (the original recipe used Burrata).
I love a good, easy pasta recipe and since I have been running a lot more lately I felt like I could use the heavy-carb meal. I loved the simplicity of it- lots of garlic, fresh tomatoes and spinach and that it only has 7 ingredients (not including oil, S&P). Delicious and easy!
And just to clear the air, yes I am a Dietitian and I eat pasta. I have no problems with pasta (well except if you were to eat huge quantities of it every day). I believe in all things in moderation and although I really don’t eat it very frequently I do LOVE a good pasta dish. Since I didn’t get a chance to photograph it the first time, I had to make it again this Friday along with some salmon which was the perfect meal for the night before my 10 mile run.
Speaking of running, my 10 mile run went really well this weekend. I averaged a 9:15 pace which was OK. I felt sluggish at the beginning and the end and it took me awhile to warm up, however throughout the middle I felt strong. It started out around 28 degrees and quickly warmed up to the 40s. It was a perfect cloudless day here in Washington which is hard to come by for this time of year. The best part of this week’s run is that I felt great afterwards. I normally feel the need to take a nap by noon after a long run and this time I went straight to 2 hours of soccer games for my kids and had absolutely no leg soreness or aches the day after. I honestly felt like I didn’t even exercise. I can definitely tell my training is paying off!
Moving on to meal planning, I am using up some freezer food and am hoping this will help me come up under budget this week. I am only trying 1 new recipe this week which is sort of unusual for me but I am sure I’ll be doing some day time lunch/blogging cooking too.
Sunday
Leftover Brisket, ColeSlaw, Crock Pot Black Beans
Monday
Bean and Cheese Tacos, Leftover slaw and veggies
Tuesday
Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas, Green Rice, Leftover Beans
Wednesday
Leftovers
Thursday
Stromboli, Salad Bar Salad
Friday
Mediterranean Veggie Burgers, Turkey Burgers for the kids, Sweet Potato Fries
Whether you are running a lot or just want a good, easy pasta dish, make this!
- 8 ounces uncooked fettuccini
- ¾ cup halved grape tomatoes
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 (14.5 oz) can unsalted diced tomatoes, undrained
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 4 cups baby spinach (if using regular spinach give it a rough chop)
- Cook pasta according to package directions; reserve ~1/4 cup of pasta water; drain the rest.
- While pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray, arrange tomatoes, cut side down and cook about 2 minutes or until seared. Stir tomatoes, cook additional 30 seconds. Remove from pan; set aside.
- Reduce heat to low, add oil to pan. Add red pepper flakes, garlic and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place canned tomatoes in a mini food processor; blend until almost smooth. Add pureed tomatoes and salt to oil mixture; cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove skillet from heat. Add spinach and cooked pasta and 1-2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water. Toss well until spinach wilts slightly.
- Arrange 1⅓ cups pasta mixture in each bowl. Divide the seared grape tomatoes evenly among the servings. Dollop about 1 Tablespoons of goat cheese over each serving. Serve with chopped basil if desired.
Questions: Did you meal plan this week? Share what you are having? Did you get any good runs in this week?
Roasted Tomato Salsa
Easy Vegetable Soup
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Skillet
The Best Veggie Bagel Sandwich
I can relate, I’m a magazine junkie too! Harder to keep up with lately it seems.
This looks like a pasta dish that has been staring at me from the cover of CL! That is one if the 1st mags I subscribed to and still a favorite. I love a good pasta dish, this looks so fresh & flavorful!!
Haha, I just realized it is on the cover! It was so simple but tasty. Oh and I just found a 5 magazine bundle for $19.99 last night so now I will be getting even more. Trouble. What was I thinking?
Mmmm…fettuccine! The Italian in me thanks you! 🙂
Another great recipe that I’ll be making of yours. Thanks!
Angela @ Happy Fit Mama recently posted..Marathon Monday Week 4
Haha, you’re welcome. You could use the carbs I am sure with all your running!
This almost looks like the dinner I made for my bf last night!
Looks delish!
Kierston @candyfit recently posted..I Trust My Body…
Well great minds think alike! 😉
Sorry I have been gone. We are back in the routine now. The pasta looks great I will have to try that. Also I hope you share the Mediterranean veggie burgers they sound great. Here’s our plans for the week.
Sun- we had some company so I did pulled pork, cole slaw, roasted asparagus, and sun chips.
Mon-your black bean burgers left over slaw and chips
Tues-eating at some one else’s house
Wed/thurs- pasta salad and veggie sandwiches not sure what which day.
Friday- we have company coming from out of town so I am not sure if they will arrive for dinner if not we will have homemade pizza I will make something else if they will be here.
Saturday- fajita and Tex mex trimmings at home
Sunday- out
I forgive you…I just missed hearing from you! I have high hopes for the veggie burgers so I will definitely let you know how they turn out!
This is soooooo me and I would love to have this for dinner soon.
Tina @ Best Body Fitness recently posted..The Weekly Reader
You can’t go wrong with a garlicky pasta! 😉
I used to subscribe to Cooking Light religiously. I’ve stopped subscribing to most magazines these days because I haven’t been making time to read them, but maybe I need to change that! This looks amazing!
Deborah recently posted..Marshmallow Caramel Popcorn
Thanks Deborah! Unfortunately I just saw an awesome deal last night for a bundle of 5 magazines so now I will be getting even more. It is so hard to sit down to look at them but I still love having them around! 🙂
Me too-I have a whole pile of magazines each week and since I started the blog two years ago I haven’t made any recipes from them. But they certainly are good inspiration! This pasta dish looks right up my alley-yum!
How funny! I try at least 1 new recipe a week (I think). 😉 At least you can say you make a ton of your own creations!
Great job on your ten miler! I’m a big fan of cooking light, too. I no longer subscribe, but I have tons of their magazines around the house. 🙂 The seared tomatoes look so good!
Laura @ Mommy Run Fast recently posted..Bayou Classic 10k Recap
Ha! My husband has been on my case for so long to get rid of all my old cooking magazines. I mean, they are really really old – like 10+ years or something. Finally, during my weekend of being unplugged, I finally went through a bunch of them, found some new recipes to try and some old favorites that I had forgotten about. Hmmm, I don’t think that I’ve ever really read Cooking Light. Good inspiration for my menu for the week! That pasta looks delicious! And great job on your 10 miler!
Christine @ Love, Life, Surf recently posted..Adventures in Food Prep and Meal Planning
Hi Mel! Love the idea of Schwans–have seen it here too and always wonder about the quality, so good to knowand it would be great for you when Toby deploys, worth a little extra money not to have to do that grocery store visit too often. The food looks great and if Lucas liked it I would like it!! Wow, congrats on your run!! You are truly amazing honey in all that you are able to do. Can’t wait to try that pasta dish. You know I am doing mosty fish and veggies for past few weeks, combination of lent, discipline and healthy choices. You know how I love chicken so miss it a little but not much else. Even bought some morning star “buffalo wings” to try, we shall see!! Have even gotten over all the cheese I love and sticking with only goat cheese! i did taste a vegetable quesadilla the other day out and it sure was good so am going to try to re-produce it. Am counting the days!! Can’t wait to see you all!!! xoxoxo M
Looks amazing, but I got this result, under a VEGAN search. I’ll definitely have to try this recipe, without the goat cheese.