I don't know about you, but for me, the pace of life isn't getting any slower! I've got two jobs, and my own business, and in April we've had two family birthdays, and I'm in the middle of writing a novel and recording an audiobook, and planting a garden, and... you get the picture. Something has to give. Lately, for me, that has been healthy eating. It's just so much faster to run out to McDonalds or order pizza. But a girl cannot live on fast food alone -- not for long.
One thing I know that works for me is to cook a healthy meal at lunchtime instead of for dinner. I've learned about myself that if I don't cook early in the day, I don't cook. Which brings us to today.
I am largely a toss-together whatever's in the kitchen kind of cook. Today, though, was semi-planned, in that I knew I wanted to cook a pasta with shrimp and peppers, so I had those main ingredients stocked. Then I tossed in a bunch more.
Leigh's Shrimp Plus More Pasta
Ingredients:
Bow Tie Pasta - just dump the amount that fits your pot into a pot of boiling water.
1 smokie
2 green onions chopped (including the greens and the onions)
1 clove of garlic, squashed and chopped
1 red pepper
1/3 package frozen shrimp
2 heaping tablespoons of cottage cheese
fresh basil leafs
Italian seasoning
fresh ground pepper
red pepper flakes
garlic powder
sunflower oil
Start your pasta boiling. Bow tie pasta takes a bit longer than some pastas to cook, so give it the time it needs.
While your pasta cooks, cut up your green onions, slice your red pepper into strips, slice the smokie rounds, then take the flat end of your knife and push down on your garlic clove until the paper skin slides off and the clove bursts open slightly. Discard the skins and chop up the clove.
Add sunflower oil to your pan and heat over medium heat. This oil will add a slightly nutty flavour to your dish. Add the garlic and garlic and cook for one minute. Add the smokie and cook one more minute, then add the red pepper. Cook for several minutes, until the smokies start to brown and the peppers to soften. Stir frequently so the green onions don't burn but do spread over the sausage and the peppers. Remove the mixture from your pan into a waiting dish. Add the shrimp to the pan, sprinkle liberally with garlic powder and continue to cook.
Drain your pasta then return it to the pot. Keep the pot on the burner, but turn the heat off. Add two tablespoons of sunflower oil and toss the pasta in the oil. Add the cottage cheese and mix it into the hot pasta. The cheese will melt somewhat (but not completely). Add the chopped basil and stir, sprinkle the pasta with your Italian seasoning, give several shakes of ground pepper, and sprinkle with red pepper flakes, then stir all the ingredients into your pasta.
Add the mixture you have in your dish back into the pasta pot and stir. Top with your shrimp. Serve it up and enjoy!
If you want a slightly tangy option, sprinkle lightly with lemon juice. Or, if you prefer, add a shake of parmesan cheese. It will be delicious with any of these varieties and makes a great lunch that isn't too heavy, but is full of nutrition, healthy protein, and flavour. Yum! Tastes like more.
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