Baked Penne with Aspargus and Turkey

Another Clean Eating recipe from http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/ that I changed up a bit.

13.5 oz. whole wheat penne pasta
1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
Cooking spray
1 lb lean ground turkey
3 cups organic pasta sauce - I used Muir Glen Garlic Roasted Garlic
1/2 t. dried basil
1 t. minced garlic
1 small onion, minced
1/4 t. sea salt
1 cup part skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook penne according to directiosn. When pasta is 1 minute from being done, add asparagus and boil for 1 minute. Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Cook ground turkey and onions until turkey is browned, add garlic, basil, salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta sauce and simmer until heated through.

Add turkey meat sauce to penne and asparagus and stir to combine.

Coat a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray and add 1/2 the penne mixture and sprinkle with 3/4 of the mozzarella. Add remaining penne, then sprinkle remaining mozzarella and top with Parmigiano-Regianno. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. This makes six servings. And it's really good.

The original recipe did not call for onion or for fresh garlic - rather garlic powder. I thought it needed onions. And I think it was an excellent addition. The original recipe also called for just tomato sauce. I couldn't find it and replaced it with organic pasta sauce. Again, a good substitute.

Homemade

So, M and I are doing the Clean Eating diet (which is NOT a diet, but a WAY OF LIFE. Whatever. I've tried them all...) But I love to cook and this recipe tried to be labor intensive. It is a pasta dish, so I was immediately intrigued. Anything pasta makes me happy.

Chicken Rotini with Homemade Roma Tomato Pasta Sauce

6 lean chicken breasts
1 T. Olive Oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1/2 c. chopped fresh basil
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
4 cloves of garlic, passed through a garlic press (I'm using minced)
8 roma tomatoes chopped
1 medium sweet potato baked (Cut it in half, drizzle it with olive oil and place halves face down on a cookie sheet. It took an hour at 350.)
1/4 c. chicken broth
10 oz. whole grain rotini pasta

Cut chicken breasts into thin strips. (I bought the kind already cut up for stir fry and then sliced it up even more. Raw meat is GROSS!) Heat olive oil, add onion, carrot and celery until soft but not brown. Add garlic and herbs and continue cooking 2-3 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and the pulp of the sweet potato along with the chicken broth. Add chicken strips and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover tightly and simmer for 20 minutes. Cook the pasta al dente and mix with the sauce.

Um. Super good. But you totally could use canned tomatoes. Just saying. And in the future, I'd probably pre-cook the chicken and shred it before adding it to the sauce. I didn't like the end texture of it. Plus, this would be just as tasty without the chicken and I might consider adding black beans to it instead for some protein.

Fish. I Don't Hate It Anymore.

So, my girlfriend and I have started the Clean Eating "diet" which is not a diet, but a way of eating, which incorporates six small meals a day, eating protein and complex carbohydrates at each sitting. I did it all last week and frankly? I lost nothing, but I FEEL better. And that's what's most important at the end of the day.

Tonight, I took a suggestion from another friend and made this dish. It's incredible. The beans just pop in your mouth and the tomato sauce makes it zesty and the sprinkle of parmesean gives it just enough of the cheese flavor to satisfy me but keep me from eating the whole dang block of swiss that I like to do in one sitting.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Drain and rinse a can of great northern beans and dump into the casserole dish. Place two frozen fish fillets (any type that trips your trigger. I used tilapia) over the top and then pour a small can of tomato sauce over the top. Sprinkle with parmesean cheese and cook in the oven - uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees.

I have enough for tonight and an incredibly large lunch tomorrow. Bon appetit!