One Pot Cherry Tomato Pasta Recipe

Tonight I played Chopped.  Well my version of Chopped, which means I come up with a meal based on what I have in the house.  Currently I have a ton of tomatoes and onions from my CSA box so I wanted to utilize something that incorporated these two vegetables.  Sometimes the creations I come up with are total misses and that is why I am thankful Domino's Pan Pizza is only an Alexa order away.  But other times, like tonight, my meal turns out to be kick ass and something worthy of making again.  On Monday I made a delicious Chicken Murphy inspired dish, but of course I didn't pay attention to the amount of each ingredient I added so recreating that meal is going to suck.  But I'm going to do it because it was that good.  Lucky for me, I added all the ingredients I used into MyFitnessPal tracker.  Go team! 

This recipe is crazy easy, does not dirty many dishes, and comfortably fills up one person.  This could serve a couple as a side if consumed with a main protein, like a chicken cutlet.  Now I want a chicken cutlet...

One Pot Cherry Tomato Pasta

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces dry spaghetti 
• 1 medium onion, chopped, approximately 100 grams
• 6 ounces cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, omit if you don't like a little heat
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons water
• 1.5 tablespoons fat free half & half
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan Reggiano cheese
• Parsley

Directions:
1.  Combine spaghetti, onions, cherry tomatoes, garlic, basil, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, olive oil, and water in a large skillet
2.  Bring ingredients to a boil over high heat
3.  Once boiling cook pasta for 9 minutes, or until al dente and water has evaporated, stirring frequently
4. After pasta is cooked remove pan from heat and mix in half & half and all but 1 tablespoon Parmesan Reggiano cheese
5.  Serve immediately and top with parsley for color and remaining Parmesan Reggiano cheese

I would definitely recommend serving this pasta with a chicken cutlet or sliced sausage for a little more protein, however, it makes a delicious vegetarian dish on its own.  I hope you enjoy!

Roasted Asparagus

Tuesday I shared my Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes recipe and promised to share how I make roasted asparagus.

Asparagus is not only delicious, but it's a natural diuretic (hello skinny!) so be prepared for some pungent urine.  If you ask me, it is a small price to pay for a bloat free belly.  While asparagus is easy to make, it is also quickly destroyed if you overcook it.  I, like my father, prefer vegetables to have a crunch to them.  This recipe is perfect for that.  When the asparagus is a vibrant green color it is cooked with said crunch.  Yum!

Now if you are in the camp that prefers vegetables to be overcooked then this recipe is not for you. Once the asparagus turns a dull, dark green color then you've achieved mushy and stringy asparagus.  Edible, but not ideal.

Roasted Asparagus

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• Bunch of asparagus (literally one bunch, not a whole lot)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1-2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese depending on how cheesy you like it

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees and coat baking dish with cooking spray
2.  Wash asparagus, dry, and remove ends (I do the bend and snap technique)
3.  Place asparagus in the baking dish and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, garlic powder, and half the cheese

4. Once tossed sprinkle remaining cheese over asparagus and bake for 12-15 minutes until asparagus is tender to your liking (I like a little bite)

Note: The color change is slight, but you can see in the pictures that the asparagus takes on a more bright green shade
5.  Serve and enjoy.  I recommend pairing it with my Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes recipe and the protein of your choosing

Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

My husband has been craving steak.  I, on the other hand, only like meat when I'm in the mood, which is pretty much never.  Unless by meat you mean tuna fish because I love tuna.

Lucky for husband I was sick this weekend, which means he took one for the team and got to pick out groceries or how I like to think about it, whatever he wants to eat.  Since he knew today would be a snow storm, he decided to make a nice steak and potato meal and being the good wife that I am, I agreed to eat whatever he cooked.  

Let's just say dinner was delicious and I'm glad he wanted steak.

I would love to take credit for dinner, but hubs was in charge of the steak.  I won't and can't even pretend to know how he cooks it, but it's the bomb.  Clearly I should have more steak in my life.  I did contribute though with two of my go to sides that are super easy and make for great food presentation:Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus.

Click here for the Roasted Asparagus Recipe

Crispy Parmesan Baked Potatoes

Printable Recipe

Servings: about 4

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs baby potatoes
• 1/4-1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (powdered or shredded both work)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Clean potatoes and slice in half lengthwise

3. Put about 1/4 cup of the mustard and cheese in separate shallow dishes for dipping (remember you can always add more mustard and cheese as needed)
4. Dip potato cut side down in mustard

5. Then dip in Parmesan cheese

6. Shake off extra cheese and place potatoes cut side down on baking sheet lined with parchment paper

7. Repeat dipping potatoes in mustard and then cheese until all potatoes are on baking sheet.  Drizzle olive oil over potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste

8.  Cook potatoes for 30 minutes or until a knife easily pierces through potato and cut side is golden brown

Dish up and enjoy!  I know I did.