Farfalle with Turkey Sausage and Spinach

Ingredients:
1 lb. turkey sausage, casings removed
1 1/4 cups hot water
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
8 oz. uncooked multi-grain farfalle pasta
1 package of baby spinach leaves
1 tbsp basil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp oregano

Directions: Serves 4
1. Spray large skillet with cooking spray of your choice. Begin to heat over medium.
2. Add turkey sausage to skillet and break up with spatula. Stir continuously until cooked (no longer pink). When cooked, drain the meat.
3. Stir in water, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and pasta. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
5. Add in spinach, basil, garlic, and oregano, and stir for one minute or until spinach wilts.
6. Ready to serve!

Garlic Green Beans with Pine Nuts

With so few ingredients in this dish, it may be the easiest thing I've ever made (other than the bowls of cereal and PB&J's that filled my formative years). So if your friends make fun of you for the time you tried to cook broccoli with your facial steamer, impress them with this recipe...it's fool-proof! 


Ingredients: 
10 oz. green beans, washed and trimmed
Olive Oil
1 Clove of Garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pine nuts
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: Serves 4
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Throw in the green beans and cook until just tender, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, coat a skillet with oil and heat to medium. Add the garlic slices and cook for 1 minute. Then add the pine nuts and toast until brown, or about 3 minutes.
3. Drain the green beans and combine in skillet with garlic and pine nuts. Toss to coat in the skillet. 
4. Remove skillet from heat, toss with salt and pepper to taste, and serve!

Grilled Eggplant Rolls

This recipe is reminiscent of the traditional Italian dish: Eggplant Rollitini. They have a lighter feel than the original dish, and skip the breading, so they are actually gluten-free. These tasty roll-ups work well as a side dish, or an appetizer! I happened to go produce-shopping on a day, in a store, where all the eggplants decided they'd be gigantic (I kid you not, biggest I've ever seen), so yours will end up looking a bit narrower than mine. You can use a stove-top griller, griddle press, or regular outdoor grill for these. If it's available to you, I suggest the outdoor grill for that added charcoal taste. 

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants, sliced length-wise

Olive oil (of your choice)

3/4 cup Ready-Made Pesto

1/2 cup Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese

2 tsp lemon juice

Directions: Serves 4

1. Preheat your grill.

2. Brush each side of eggplant slices with olive oil until coated.

3. Place slices on the grill, and grill about 3 minutes per side, or until slightly charred.

4. Meanwhile, prepare filling in a medium bowl. Combine pesto, ricotta, and lemon juice until evenly mixed. 

5. Remove eggplant slices from the grill and allow to cool. 

6. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the pesto-cheese mix onto each slice of eggplant, and spread evenly.

7. Roll up each slice, and place on serving plate seam-side down.

8. Serve immediately and Mangia! 

Summer Italian Birthday Menu

Italian Food is one of those bring-your-family-together cuisines...at least it is for my family! It's no wonder I love to cook. I grew up surrounded by Polish Jews (and we all know they're a close second to Italians when it comes to food-appreciation and "the-need-to-feed" feeling), who either pretended to be Italian, or married one. So when it was time to celebrate my mama's August birthday, I knew just the menu to choose: a lightened-up, summer Italian feast. This meal brought my family of 7 busy adults to the table for a night of togetherness. May it do the same for yours! 

*The recipes below serve 4. I doubled them for my hearty family. 

Grilled Eggplant Rolls

Garlic Green Beans with Pine Nuts

Farfalle with Turkey Sausage and Spinach