Day 24: Pasta Primavera

I realized it had been quite a while since we had had a meatless meal. I also am trying to make sure we eat a lot more fruits and veggies even though we eat quite a bit to begin with. I thought this would be a hit with Austin: noodles and broccoli and carrots with cheese on top. Pretty much all his faves wrapped into one package with a few extra ingredients thrown in.

It is from the Italian Section of the WW: Take Out Tonight cookbook. I went to Caputo's for all the veggies and cheese because I knew they would be fresh and cheap. Turns out the cheese, not so cheap at the ol Caputo's, but I was already there so I sucked it up and bought them anyway.

Note: According to my brother, Caputo's delivers like Peapod. You place your order online and you can have it delivered for like $6.00 or they can have it ready for you to pick up. Something to ponder for those of you who don't have a lot of time to grocery shop or find it to be an Olympic sport to grocery shop with children. I swear between trying to get them in cart, stay in the cart, keep them from pulling everything off the shelves, and trying to focus at the same time, I deserve a gold medal every time I leave with groceries.

Pasta Primavera(serves 4)
1/2 lb pasta1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 low sodium vegetable broth
4 carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices
1lb broccoli crowns, cut into florets
1 zucchini, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices
1 yellow squash,cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese
12 fresh basil leaves thinly sliced

Step 1: Cook pasta

Step 2: Heat large skillet over med-high heat. Swirl in oil and add in onion and garlic until golden about 5 minutes.

Step 3: Add the broth and carrots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer covered for 5 minutes

Step 4: Add broccoli, zucchini, squash, salt and pepper. Return to boil; reduce heat and simmer until veggies are crisp tender(6-7 minutes).

Step 5: Toss with pasta. Serve at once. Sprinkle with asiago and Basil.

Calories:338 WW: 7 points

Kitchen Play by Play: Holy chopping, Batman. My wrist is killing me. I did not use squash; I cannot go there yet. I used more like 6 cloves of garlic instead of the 3 the recipe called for. I also used the Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta; so in addition to an abundance of veggies, we also got some added fiber. I do not like basil, so I only chopped about 3 leaves for Paul. To be honest, I only used the basil because I still had it in the house. I don't think I would have bought it just for this recipe. Even though, I don't think I like asiago cheese, I gave it a shot and topped my bowl with a small handful. This was an all in one meal. I did not serve anything with it. I would have enjoyed some garlic bread but that would have taken us over the 400 calories.

The finished productThe Verdict:
Nicole: Pretty yummy for a healthy dish. The veggies were cooked perfectly and my "overuse" of garlic proved to be a wise decision. The dish had a ton of flavor. I think grilled chicken breast would be awesome added to this recipe. I give it a 4. Plus, you really can cater it to your own taste. Peppers, cauliflower, and tomatoes could all be added to this dish.

Paul-gives it a 4. "Surprisingly a 4" were his exact words. "Lots of veggies, no meat but very tasty. The garlic and cheese give it great flavor."

Austin-ate most of it. I cheated and gave him Barilla sauce instead with the veggies. I thought the immense amount of garlic would be too spicy for him.