Third times a charm!

I recently purchased some 'gourmet' tomato and mozzarella chicken sausage, and I thought I bet this would taste really good over some pasta with olive oil, garlic, sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.  And I was right, it was fantastic.

I cut up three sausage links, and sauteed them in a pan with garlic (a heaping teaspoon of the minced variety...I really love garlic) and a little olive oil.  Cook the whole grain pasta according to the package.  And while those two things were going on the stove, I sliced some tomatoes and cut up some fresh motz.  Once the pasta was cooked I tossed it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Added the sauteed sausage, tomatoes and motz to complete the dish.

Later in the week, I thought that dish I made the other night was really good, but I have some extra veggies I need to use before they go bad.  So, I started with the same base as the meal mentioned above except I used two sausage links instead of three and added broccoli and yellow squash.  I sauteed the broccoli and squash in the same pan with the sausage.  I ran out of fresh motz, so I used some grated motz I had in the fridge.  Another great dish with a good serving of veggies!

A few days after the second meal listed, I remembered I had bought spinach to throw into a pasta dish as some point.  I know what you're thinking, wow, that is a lot of pasta for one family to eat in such a short amount of time.  Well, James and I had been running to get in shape for the Janis Bresnahan 5K Run for Education which took place this past weekend, so I thought it didn't hurt that we were getting our share of carbs.  So I took the second dish from above, and merely added chopped spinach to it.  This time I had very little grated motz left, so I garnished it with grated Parmesan.    

All in all, we found all three meals to be very delicious.  However, the more veggies you can add to a dish the better.  They are filling, have tons of vitamins and nutrients, and are low in calories.  You really can't go wrong.  And since the veggies fill you up quicker, there's leftovers for lunch the next day!

As for pasta, it's okay to enjoy pasta multiple times a week if you are smart about it.  I try to buy whole grain pasta, and I pay close attention to portion sizes.   Measure your pasta before boiling it.  And if you can some exercise in after dinner that helps too!  Maybe you didn't run this weekend's 5K, doesn't mean you can't start training now for next year's event!

Having company over? Don't freak out.

My husband and I had his family over this past Friday evening for drinks and appetizers to celebrate a milestone birthday for his dad.  Given the limited amount of time between getting home from work and company arriving, I had to think of some quick appetizers that I could pull together.  Once again, it's Friday during Lent, so these appetizers shouldn't contain meat. 

No meat???  The first thing that comes to mind is a veggie platter.  Quick to put together, healthy, and looks pretty. 

• Baby carrots - simply take them from the bag and put them on your platter
• Cherry tomatoes - quickly rinse them off and add them to your platter
• Celery - a little more work required here, don't hurt yourself....rinse the celery and then cut into small pieces
• Broccoli - follow the same procedures as you did with the celery

To keep this dish relatively healthy, I served it with yogurt based ranch dressing versus the standard full of fat regular ranch dressing.

Next time saver appetizer.....your standard cheese and crackers.  Simple, yet goes well with wine, and is usually a crowd pleaser.  I prefer pepperjack cheese, which I paired with Toasted wheat crackers.  Want to add a little something more to this appetizer?  Throw some sliced pepperoni on the plate (only one week of Lent left!) or some grapes, or both!

Lastly, I made a spinach and artichoke dip which I served with sliced french bread.  But you could serve this dip with almost anything.  Maybe crackers, tortilla chips, some of those veggies from your veggie platter you made...whatever you like.  This dish did take some planning.  Since I knew I wouldn't have time to pull this together when I got home from work, I put the dip together the night before. 

First thing's first, take your block of low fat cream cheese out of the fridge so it can soften at room temperature.  While that's sitting on the counter, cook your frozen chopped spinach in the microwave.  And while you're microwaving, chop up your can of artichokes.  You could always buy your spinach and artichokes fresh, cook them, and then chop them, but you know how it is, I'm looking for time savers!  When your frozen spinach is done defrosting in the microwave, drain it. Try to get as much water out of it as possible, this will ensure your dip isn't watery.  Hopefully, your cream cheese has softened. 

In a large bowl, mix your cream cheese, chopped artichokes, and spinach.  To that, add a large tablespoon of olive oil mayo.  I like the olive oil mayo because I feel like it's better for me, and I guess it is.  It does have less calories and fat than your standard mayonnaise.  The olive oil also gives it a nice flavor.  Not a fan of using mayo in general?  You can substitute it with either plain yogurt or fat free sour cream.  Mince a clove or two of garlic and add this to the bowl as well.  Finally, add 3/4 c of reduced fat mozzarella cheese.  You could add 1/4 c of your 3 favorite shredded cheeses if you don't want to stick to just one.

I forgot to take a picture before we dove into it!

Once you've mixed this together, put it in an oven safe dish, and place it in the refrigerator.  Tomorrow, when you get home from work, before you even take your coat off, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and cook this dip for 25-30 minutes.  Serve it hot.

My sister-in-law also made a wonderful appetizer as well.  I didn't take a photo, although I wish I had.  She took some small Melba toast, and covered each piece of toast with sliced tomato, mozzarella and basil,  and drizzled olive oil and balsamic over them.  Again, super simple, but super tasty.  They were gone in no time at all!

So the point is, you don't need to spend a lot of time slaving in the kitchen to have friends and family over.  You can put some simple dishes together that are sure to please...happy hosting!