This Fall Pasta Dish is Divine!

Tonight I made Rachel Ray's recipe for Butternut & Parsley Penne with only a couple changes and it was SO good. Rich tasting, but with very little fat (if you forget the cheese like I did!) and easy to tweak to accommodate picky palates.
My changes:
Used caramelized onion instead of scallions
Omitted the chili pepper (hoping my 3-year old would eat this dish)
Forgot to add the cheese - but it honestly wasn't needed!
Added some leftover chicken breast

SO GOOD! Seriously.

Five Pepper Spaghetti with Cilantro & Queso Cotija

 

13.25 oz. pkg. Dreamfields spaghetti or whole wheat spaghetti
3 T. light olive oil
2 cubanelle peppers
1 sweet red pepper 
1 sweet orange pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 medium onion
3 large cloves garlic
1 tsp. whole fennel seed, crushed
1 c. dry white wine
salt & pepper to taste
1 c. part-skim Cotija cheese, divided
1/2 c. chopped, fresh cilantro

Cook the pasts according to package directions and drain. Toss with 1 T. of olive oil and set aside.
While pasta in cooking, halve and thinly slice the peppers and onion. 
Mince the garlic.
In a large skillet (or use the same pot you cooked the pasta in, like I did), heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Saute the peppers, onion, garlic and fennel seed in the oil until almost tender. Add the white wine and let bubble away until absorbed by the vegetables. Salt and pepper to your taste. Turn off the heat.
Add the spaghetti and 1/2 c. of the Cotija. Toss, toss, mix, mix well to combine. 
Dump pasta into a large serving bowl and top with chopped cilantro and remaining Cotija cheese. 

*This recipe is good hot or cold!
** I used the fennel seed to create the illusion of "sausage" in this dish. 

6 servings

311 calories

15.5 g. fat

25.9g total carbs

5.3g fiber

5.6g sugars

11.8g protein

approx. using caloriecount

Bacon, Leek & Fresh Tomato "BLT" Macaroni

This looks good doesn't it?

Here's my take on Rachel Ray's BLT Pasta.

12 oz. thick-cut bacon, chopped

3 leeks, well-cleaned & sliced in half-moons

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 fresh roma tomatoes, chopped (do not seed)

1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley

13.5 ounces *Dreamfields Elbow Macaroni (or pasta of your choice)

salt & lots of fresh black pepper

to serve: Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. At this point I scooped some aside for my picky toddler to have with only cheese.

Put the pot back on the stove and cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel to drain off excess fat. Set aside some bacon for your toddler :). Pour out all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pot. Return to heat and add leeks and garlic, cooking and stirring until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring often, just until tomatoes start to break down - about 5 minutes. At this point dump in the pasta and bacon. Stir to combine and heat through. Add parsley, stir and serve. Pass Parmesan cheese and the black pepper grinder at the table.

My daughter ignored the pasta but devoured the bacon. At least she had protein, right?

*Since becoming diabetic, Dreamfields pasta has been a gift from God. It only has 5 grams of digestible carbohydrates per serving and is a good source of fiber. My family can't tell it's any different than "normal" pasta. It's usually around $2.50-$3 a box, but totally worth the extra money if you are watching your sugar intake!*

We had the leftovers 2 days later and there were no complaints!