I have felt a bit down in the last few days, so I decided to make my "Happy Pink Pasta" last night. I call it "Happy Pink Pasta" because the sauce is a beautiful pink color and eating the pasta makes everyone happy ! :0
It's not exactly low fat or low carb, but I also made some asparagus and salad, and we ate more salad and asparagus than pasta. Also, it would have probably been a good idea to add some protein to the meal, such as some grilled chicken or grilled salmon. But I haven't really started the meal planning yet, so there was no chicken or salmon to be grilled.... :0 So here is my happy pink pasta recipe:
Happy Pink Pasta Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 gloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine OR vegetable stock
1 can diced, peeled tomatoes with juice
1 cup half & half (I used to use whipping cream, but half & half works just fine)
salt
pepper
1 pound whole wheat pasta - boiled
Parmesan cheese (shaved)
Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Once the onions are translucent, add the garlic. (Be careful not to burn the garlic.) Saute until the onions and garlic are golden brown. Add wine (or vegetable stock) and boil until the liquid is almost evaporated. Add tomatoes with juice and simmer about 5 minutes. Add half & half and simmer another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sauce with the boiled pasta (I like to mix the pasta and the sauce in the pot in which I boiled the pasta and let the mixture sit for a minute so everything "marries.") Top with shaved Parmesan cheese.
We ate asparagus and herb salad with the pasta. I simply boiled the asparagus, briefly put it in ice water to keep the color, and then topped it with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Low calorie yet so flavorful.
I used an herb salad mix and dressed it with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Very simple, yet very good.
Well, I definitely was happy after eating my happy pink pasta and the flavorful asparagus and herb salad... :0
Be well,
Andrea
