Positive feedback and a yummy recipe

I feel so loved!  Being featured as a “Real Fit Mom” on Skinnymom.com today goes on my LifeList as being one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me!  I am so incredibly humbled and honored by the all of the positive feedback!  I received so many words of encouragement from friends, family, and (even) people I have never even met through Facebook,Twitter, and even on Pinterest.  The best part about it is that I have had the chance to connect with so many others who have struggled through, or are still in the midst of, their own weight loss journey.  Thanks again, SkinnyMom, for the awe-inspiring opportunity!

I promised I would let you know how the pasta from last night turned out.   Let’s just say, it was so good, we ate it for dinner last night and breakfast and lunch today!  That whole concoction is definitely a keeper!  Since it did turn out so tasty, I’d like to share the recipe with you. 

Pesto-stuffed Tortellini with Italian Sausage and Spinach

Ingredients: Three-cheese Italian sausage, Trader Joe’s Pesto-stuffed Tortellini, spaghetti sauce, spinach, red pepper flakes, onion, garlic (no such thing as too much garlic!), parsley, oregano, and basil (I used dried but prefer using fresh herbs.)

These are the ingredients you will need.

Preparation:

1.    For pasta: fill a large pot full of water, drizzle of oil and large dash of salt, bring to a boil.

2.    Once water is boiling, add in pasta and boil for the required time.

3.    Meanwhile, dice the onion and mince garlic.  Add to another pan with a drizzle of olive oil and a couple of dashes of red pepper flakes.  Sautee until translucent. Add in sliced sausage. 

4.    Once the sausage is nice and cooked (I like mine slightly crispy around the edges), add in a couple of large handfuls of spinach.  Move around the pan until the spinach has a chance to wilt.

5.    After the spinach wilts, pour in spaghetti sauce and your seasonings and herbs.  Turn heat on low and let simmer so that all the seasonings and flavors will meld.

6.    By now the pasta should be ready so you can drain it, saving about a ½ cup of the pasta water (this, when added to the sauce, will help it thicken).

7.    Once the mixture has simmered, pour it on top of the pasta and carefully mix it up, so as not to rip open the tortellini.

8.    Your finished product will look like this:

9.    Top with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, or whichever cheese tickles you fancy and enjoy! J

I hope you enjoyed the recipe as much as we enjoyed eating it!  Bon Appetit, or as we say in Spanish, ‘¡Buen provecho!’ 

Another happy customer!