Life and a Little Pasta Primavera

Wow - I can't believe it has been two months since I posted! Things have been absolutely crazy.  In addition to the normal craziness of a mother of 2 (almost 3) we recently put our house up for sale.  I can not even stress how exhausting it is to be pregnant and trying to sell a house.  We are doing it "by owner" to try to save a couple bucks and between the cleaning, open houses, regular showings (and being 7 months pregnant) I feel like I don't have time for anything extra. 

Did I mention that Emma started soccer, and Aiden started baseball? Ouch! ;)

They are lucky they are so cute or else I am not sure that I could juggle everything right now!

I did squeeze in a run/walk today which was a rare treat.  I couldn't turn down the beautiful weather and my neighbor's offer to go with me.  We ended up going about 3.4 miles which included a poop stop for Utley (yes...the dog) and a bathroom break for me.  I just can't run like I used to! lol...



After the run I had to get the kids from school and decided to make dinner super early.  I was STARVING and needed something quick and easy to satisfy me as well as the kids when they decided to eat.  Enter this little gem that I got super cheap with a coupon:

I was a little hesitant.  I always made alfredo type sauce from scratch and wasn't sure how this would turn out.  Let's just say I was pleasently surprised! Here is what I came up with:



I found an awesome new veggie stand near my house.  Everything is super cheap but really fresh so I stocked up yesterday on a ton of veggies.  The only thing I would have done differently in this dish is add mushrooms.  I didn't have any and didn't necessarily miss them, but I love mushrooms in a primavera.  The recipe is approximate as I just chopped and tossed as I went...


Pasta Primavera

8 oz dry penne
3 cups broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 of a red onion (chopped large)
2/3 cup baby carrots (make nice size chunks)
2 tomatoes (seeded and chopped large)
2 tsp minced garlic
1 green pepper chopped
2 tbsp butter (I use Light Life by Bob Greene - saves a few calories)
1 tbsp flour
1 cup skim milk
1 tub Philadelphia Cooking Creme - Italian and Herb
Parmesean Cheese
Black Pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Add broccoli and cauliflower during last 3 minutes of cooking.  Drain and set aside.

In a saute pan, melt butter and add rest of veggies and garlic.  Cover and cook about 10-15 minutes until carrots are soft enough - stirring occasionally.  Add flour and make sure it is dispersed evenly among veggies.  Add milk and stir to create a thin sauce.  Add cooking creme and stir until all combined.  Add in drained pasta/veggie mixture and stir until sauce evenly coats everything.  Top with parm cheese and black pepper (salt if you need it too). 

That is it - super easy and I thought it was really good.  It is heavy on the veggies, so if you need more pasta than veggies give or take some of the ingredients.

I am not one to buy processed foods at full price but if you can find the $1.50 off Philadelphia Cooking Creme coupon I would definitely give this a try!

Until later!