Today Mayo is hosting a chess tournament in the cafeteria so Piyush is busy competing with his friends. I work evenings this weekend, so its nice he has something fun (for him) to do aside from golf. He is a golf maniac and I think a little weekend break will be good for him.
While he’s busy with chess, I’m at home until I have to leave at 1:30. I was feeling a little hungry and was craving pasta. I don’t eat pasta too often, its not my favorite thing and I rarely ever order it when eating out. There is one exception to this though…I will eat tons and tons of pasta if it is covered in pesto! Its dangerous, believe me! I thought about running to Noodles and ordering a Pesto Cavatappi, quick and easy. Instant gratification. But then, I remembered I had some spirally pasta in the pantry. —Who knows how long that’s been there. I also remembered I had bought some ready-made pesto at Trader Joes last week. I also have tons of veggies in the fridge. So, I decided I’d just whip together my own version. It was so quick and easy, and the calories were significantly lower. Did you know one serving of Pesto Cavatappi at Noodles is almost 800 calories!?! My version comes to approximately 385 calories.
This was delicious! and I didn’t regret my choice to make it at home at all.
The Recipe:
2 oz cellentani (spiral) pasta —weighed on the food scale to make sure
2 tbsp. pesto (you could even use a little less, if you’d like)
4 cherry tomatoes
1/4 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 c. fresh spinach
1/4 oz. goat chesse
How I made it:
- I first cooked the pasta according to the box in a pot of salted, boiling water. Drained the pasta and set aside.
- In the same pan that I cooked the pasta, I put a couple mists of olive oil (using my Misto) and then added the cherry tomatoes. I cooked these until they started to blister (turn a little brownish and burst), then I threw the mushrooms in.
- I stirred until the mushrooms were fully cooked and then added the spinach. I kept stirring until the spinach was wilted. I threw the cooked pasta into the pan and stirred everything around.
- I added the pesto and cooked until everything was nicely heated through.
- Garnish with a little goat cheese because goat cheese = happiness!
I will definitely be making this again! I’ll probably increase the quantities to make at least 4 servings though. Leftovers make fantastic lunches for work!
Well, time to go make a quick salad for tonight…hope everyone is having a good weekend!!!!
