3.16.2009

Great food in no time for smart money-at HOME!

Eating right, eating healthy, eating smart ($$!) and feeling satisfied after you eat...it's all possible, and really not time consuming if you plan your menu and shop accordingly. And you can do it for less than dining out.

I cooked dinner the other night, a simple shrimp fra diavolo, from everything that was in the house. Along with some pan seared broccoli with garlic, and it was GREAT. Homemade marinara cooks in about thirty minutes, whole wheat pasta (whatever you like- spaghetti, linguine, penne, it's your dish, cook it with the pasta you want!), frozen shrimp--get the peeled and deveined kind, with the tail still on.

I made the marinara, and while that was simmering, I defrosted the shrimp quickly under tepid water. I drained the shrimp, seasoned them liberally with sea salt and cracked black pepper, crushed garlic and olive oil, and some red pepper flakes. With my pasta water boiling, I tossed in the pasta, and then I sauteed up my broccoli and garlic, and seasoned that with sea salt and black pepper.

Putting the cooked broccoli aside, I wiped out the pan with a paper towel, and reheated it, and tossed in the shrimp with enough olive oil to thinly coat the bottom of the pan. When the shrimp was almost cooked through, I ladled in some of the marinara. Simmering, I took some of the cooked spaghetti from the pot, and put it right into the saute pan with the shrimp and marinara. I added just a touch of the pasta water, to thin out the sauce just a smidgen.

I plated the pasta with my now spicy shrimp and marinara, and that was it. A little cracked black pepper to taste, and EH! Youz got-tah nice-ah dish there, and it was healthy-whole wheat spaghetti, shrimp (protein), extra virgin olive oil, marinara (no added sugar), and broccoli with garlic as a vegetable. A really satisfying, healthy and economical meal, made at home, in less than an hour. Now, of course my five year old only wanted pasta with butter and cheese, but she did eat her broccoli...which is all any parent can ask!

The bonus to this meal is that I have leftover marinara (without the red pepper flakes) and leftover pasta (depends on how many you've got sitting down at the table!) for another meal. Saves even more time and money.

The bottom line is that you can eat healthy--protein, whole grain foods and really good veggies--keeping it within your budget, and do it all in very little time. So you can eat good, eat healthy, and eat smart.

And that's the view from my table.

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