Saturday, October 2, 2010

New Italian Recipe, TV Update, 10K Training, New Product

Yay - happy Saturday indeed! SO GLAD Austin is back - i'm freakishly dependent, right? :) Anywho, sorry to bore you with all of the car dealership drama but I just hate those guys! Grrrr. Whatevs - yesterday was a much better day. I worked from home for a bit, had a 9 - noon offsite meeting, then walked 3 miles, headed back to the office, and worked some more. After work I hit the gym. I didn't want to, but I had locked my stuff in there during lunch! This run sucked. I did it - 3.5 miles straight at 6.3 mph - with a 1/4 mile walk in front and back - but my body was like no. Stop. Don't do it. Cramp in my tummy. Ache in my left shin. But it's DONE.

Part of me was like Kel, listen to your body, it wants to quit. But I knew my body was just being whiney because it wanted to go home and see Austin! And it was CRAVING this recipe I through together based on this new product I've been DYING to try:

So I raced home, visited with Reuben and Austin, and through together what i'm calling:
Baked Italian Sausage Pasta
Idea adapted from a For the Love of Cooking recipe!
6 Servings

My serving

5 Jennie-O Hot Italian Turkey Sausage links, casings removed
11 oz. pasta of your choice (I used Ziti)
3 tbsp parmesan (I used Kraft)
93 grams fat-free ricotta cheese (I used Sargento)
2 tbsp fresh basil, finely diced
2 cups low-calorie spaghetti sauce (I used tomato & basil classico)
50 grams Fresh Mozzarella, grated (I used Trader Joe's)
1 tsp dried basil

Preheat oven to 400. Set a large pan (that has a lid) to medium and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set a pot of water to boil. Add sausage to pan, and top with lid. Add pasta to boiling water. Cook sausage for 15 minutes, turning and breaking up with a spoon every few minutes. Cook pasta for 11 minutes, drain and set aside. In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine parmesan, basil, ricotta cheese and 1.5 cups spaghetti sauce and mix thoroughly. Add cooked pasta. Stir. Shred now-cooked sausage with two forks. Add to mixture and stir. Place mixture into a baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Spread remaining ½ cup sauce on top and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and dried basil. Bake for 10 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes.

Close up of whole pan
Yum - 6 servings

Nutritional Information: 401 calories, 45 carbs, 13 fat grams and 27 protein grams.

Review: Wow. This product tastes like the real thing. I loved the sausage and thought it meshed well with the other ingredients and cooked evenly. I was glad the fresh basil was in, with the dried, and the three cheeses tasted YUMMY! Austin was a fan too – this will become a staple. We also calculated the cost of this meal - $8.25 total – so $1.37 a serving!

After dinner we watched The Event... couldn't do 10 minutes. This is off of our list. And my mom sent news that My Generation has been cancelled - thanks, madre - I won't get attached! Then we had a few glasses of wine, caught up on our weeks and called it a night - GREAT evening.

Q: Do you like turkey sausage? Have you ever tried this product? I'm LOVING this product - only $5 for 5 links/6 servings!

Q: Do you ever calculate the price of your recipes? I find it shockingly awesome sometimes!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have had Jennie O's turkey burgers before and thought they were good. I'll be on the look out for the sausage...looks like a fab comfort meal! Yes sometimes I'll calculate the cost of a homemade meal to that of restaurant/fast food and am still amazed at how much cheaper it is to eat at home! It amazes me how some people can say that can't afford "healthy/nutritious" food but when you break it down, you really are saving money & investing in your health. Have a good weekend!

Mica said...

I've never had turkey sausage, nor have I calculated the price of our meals. I should do both of these things!

What is "The Event" about? I guess it doesn't matter since it's bad...

lee said...

Good job on the run. Sometimes they do suck but I know that I always feel better if I just keep with it and finish.

I'm going to look at your blog for recipes that my husband will like. I tend to make stuff like lentils and tofu and I think he just wants "normal" albeit healthy meals and I know you have some good ones.

Anonymous said...

I just posted about my body crapping out too. I'm getting a sore throat :(

I hate when I hear people say that eating healthy costs too much money. Sure if you're going out it's going to buy buying fresh and healthy things really is cheaper. If you know portion control ;)

Erica said...

Runs are funny...sometimes they're fantastic...sometimes they're terrible. We all have our days! I think its great that you finished it up and got home for a fabulous looking meal. I've never heard of that sausage but I'm totally putting it on next weeks food list to get for the man. I think he would really like it. Food is the one thing I don't really budget on...I mean I'm reasonable, but if I'm going to spend money on anything- its healthy, quality food. Amen...off soapbox ;) Hope your weekend is fantastic

Unknown said...

I really do like turkey products....much lighter tasting! Your pasta looks great! I love Pam's recipes!

Tyler said...

Oh no! Not My Generation! I really like it! I'm all about the turkey sausage. It's quite tasty!

Pam said...

Your pasta dish looks fantastic! I love turkey Italian sausage - it's so tasty.

I couldn't do The Event either.

Joanne said...

I hate having to sludge through a workout but good for you for getting through it!

I love turkey sausage. Whole Foods also makes a really good imitation of the pork version. Delicious pasta dish!

Kelly Pearce said...

I am sorry that you are having such a horrible time with the dealership... nothing is worse than a business that doesn't stand behind their word.... ugh! New recipe looks delicious....

Anonymous said...

Wanted to report back that we LOVED the enchilada bake. I will definitely be making it again!

Also, next time I'm in Atlanta (prolly Thanksgiving) we should meet up for coffee or something. :)

Hope you're having a relaxing Sunday!

Lisa @ I'm an Okie said...

I think it's good that you can differentiate between just WANTING to stop and NEEDING to stop. It can be hard to do sometimes.

I think its great you are training for the 10k---seems like just yesterday you were running for 3 minutes at a time :)

chris mcpeake said...

turkey saugage rocks

Joanne said...

I hate having to sludge through a workout but good for you for getting through it!

I love turkey sausage. Whole Foods also makes a really good imitation of the pork version. Delicious pasta dish!

redhead75 said...

I just posted about my body crapping out too. I'm getting a sore throat :(

I hate when I hear people say that eating healthy costs too much money. Sure if you're going out it's going to buy buying fresh and healthy things really is cheaper. If you know portion control ;)