Dinner success for Mama!

The last time CJ went to the grosh, I asked him to pick up a few tomatoes OR a small bag of cherry or grape tomatoes, as K1 usually will eat them during a meal.

Well, the cherry tomatoes were buy 1, get 1 free, and CJ not passing up a good deal (whether we'd eat that many tomatoes or NOT, usually NOT!) he came home bearing 2 bags.

I looked up some new and quick and easy recipes, as cooking is not my forte. I found this one online and figured if I used the Barilla pasta that we typically do, I'd be incorporating some good protein into our diets along with the minimal cheeses (I used both Parmesan and Feta), and the whole bag of baby spinach.

Hello, this was EASY and so delish!!! For me to say easy, you know it's easy. I do not like to cook, especially when I have 2 hungry girls whining for snacks. I would compare this to my favorite dish at Noodles & Company, but I would probably add some more spices and more garlic and oil next time around! Oh, and some more tomatoes for flavor and color. (*and I didn't have mushrooms on hand, so they were omitted from tonight's rendition & I also used bow tie pasta in hopes of enticing my young eaters in the house*)

Here is the recipe, that I found at allrecipes.com (unless you already clicked on my link above):

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 2 cups spinach leaves, packed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion and garlic, and cook until golden brown. Mix in tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook 2 minutes more, until tomatoes are heated through and spinach is wilted. Reduce heat to medium, stir in pasta and feta cheese, and cook until heated through.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 451 | Total Fat: 20.6g | Cholesterol: 50mg

I know I typically don't post recipes and how I cooked online, but in attempts to change my eating habits BACK to what they used to be when I was trying to lost baby weight, I've slowly becoming obsessed with finding healthy and easy recipes to eat, that my family will as well! And that's a tall order (things my family will eat!)