Sweet Potato Pork Pasta

Alliteration! I'm referring to the "potato pork pasta" bit. Anyways....I had bits of everything in the pantry and fridge and none of it was enough by itself to make a meal for two. So I mixed it all together into a pasta dish. Kinda like how you mix in bits of everything into fried rice.

Butter
Yam
Sweet potatoes
Paprika
Cumin
Garlic salt
S&P
Pork
Pasta
Chipotle mayo


The yam and sweet potato was cubed and pan fried in a bit of butter and seasoning to start things off while the pasta was cooking. I sliced up the leftover chipotle mayo port chop and warmed it with the yam/potatoes, then added the pasta at the end. I added more chipotle mayo as seasoning (because I love chipotle mayo with yam fries) and the end result was tasty and filling.

My hubby made these!

I just want to showcase my Husband's handiwork. He made meatballs from scratch! They were super tasty. I forgot to ask him what ingredients he used. Sorry guys. We had the vodka pasta sauce from Trader Joe's but he added extra onion and mushrooms to it which enhanced the flavor and texture. Next time he endeavors to make the whole thing from scratch: meatballs, sauce, pasta

I look forward to it. =)

Hot or Cold Pasta with Okra

I had never cooked with okra before and wanted to try. I heard it was pretty versatile and could be eaten cooked or raw. It's also supposed to be pretty nutritious. So one Vegetarian Vednesday I whipped this up:

Pasta
Cooked chick peas
Okra
Onion
Premade pasta sauce...from Trader Joes
Pan seared egg tofu

And it was pretty tasty! The okra was crunchy...with a bit of sliminess at the same time. The tastes went well together. And the next day, I ate the leftovers for lunch as a cold pasta salad. Perfectly tasty as well! Love a meal that keeps giving.

Roasted Veggie Pasta

Sorry for the poor lighting on this one....but it was Meatless Monday again...and I was low on vegetables so I went the easier route with pasta. Actually I take this easier pasta route a lot.

I oven roasted zucchini and red/yellow peppers. (Tossed them in olive oil and some dried herbs.)

And then opened a bottle of vodka rose pasta sauce I wanted to try from Costco. Tossed it all together with some parm, chili flakes and voila! Delicious!

On a non-meatless meal day I would love to try this again with smoke salmon or italian sausage. =)

(Yes, you do see penne and spiraled tube pasta - I forgot the name - all mixed together. I had two unfinished boxes of pasta leftover but neither was enough for one meal so I just mixed it....goes down the same.)

Meatless Rotini Casserole

It was another Meatless Monday and this time I was going to experiment with tofu. I had grown up eating it Asian style...but was told that it really takes on whatever flavors you cook it in...so I was going to use it in a "meat" sauce for a pasta casserole....that didn't have meat in it.

Tofu
Tomatoes
Onion
Tomatoe paste
BBQ Sauce (for smoke)
Basil
Oregano
Parmesan
Goat's milk gouda
Tri-colored rotini

End result....it was really really good! I could still tell tofu was tofu...but it wasn't as if I was trying to hide the tofu in the first place. Now I know that I can experiment more with cooking tofu like meat. However, as most of the soy products in North America are GMO....I also have to be wary about where the tofu comes from. It's unfortunate because tofu can be so good for you otherwise.

Mushroom Swiss Chard penne

And then it was Vegetarian Vednesday and I thought I'd try a pasta. I still had mushrooms and some extra swiss chard in the fridge so I decided that was going to be the "sauce" for the pasta. The result was actually quite delicious and this will definitely make it into the vegetarian rotation.

Onion
Mushrooms
Swiss Chard
Paprika
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Butter
Penne pasta



My husband recently commented that though he hasn't gotten back into working out, he's noticing more muscle definition and finding himself using a tighter belt notch. I'd like to suggest it's because we've cut our fatty meat intake. =) Hurray!