Hi, I've had a lot of people ask for the recipe for a dish I highlighted on my story on instagram recently. I've really been trying to lower my own personal food waste. I was feeling like I needed to use what I had in my fridge but didn't have all the ingredients I wanted. Last weekend, I ran my second half marathon. I was completely untrained for it. Not my wisest body life move, but I did finish and I did end up with a PR by 4 minutes. How? Your guess is as good as mine. After the show, I made my way into the city to see Orfeo and Eurdyice performed at the Met Opera with Mark Morris dancers. Claudia was in that afternoon's show and I was thrilled to be going. My body on the other hand was less pleased. By the time I got home that evening, I was exhausted. All I wanted was a dense pasta meal, but the idea of ordering in and doing the three flights of stairs down and then back up... seemed nearly impossible so I got creative. (That didn't work out to my advantage: My ground beef was frozen, I had no pasta, it was a scary sight. I resorted to hot dogs, rice, some mixture I came up with and it was as bad as it sounds... HA).

Monday came around and I really wanted to make spaghetti and meatballs. My post race cravings were strong. On my way out of Trader Joe's, post interview, I picked up Trader Joe's Three Cheese Tomato Sauce, pasta, ground beef, carrots, fresh baby spinach, bread, candy, frozen food and so much more... because #traderjoesislife. I walked out with three full heavy bags worth of items that had to make it from Manhattan to Brooklyn. By the time I wobbled up the stairs and put away my new groceries, I discovered I had some quality items from the previous week that needed eating to avoid food waste. I used some of my new items and cleared out what was sooner to spoil and checked to see if I could get creative to make a meal from it and what I walked away with, was gold!

Ingredients:

1 package package butternut squash noodles

1 or 2 lbs ground beef, I went 80% to 20% leanness, but choice is yours.

1/2 jar Trader Joe's Giotto's Three Cheese Pomodoro Pasta Sauce

2 heeping handlfuls Fresh baby spinach

1/2 cup Half and Half

3 cloves Garlic

1 handful Parmesan or shredded cheese ( I like to use more personally),

Season with salt and pepper,

Start simply by browning the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat. I simply just maintained stirring. Once mostly browned, I added the butternut squash noddles and kept stirring. The noodles will begin to soften. Vary the temperature as needed to allow them to stay al dente. It was at this point I added the garlic and tomato sauce. Allow the garlic and sauce to warm for a few minutes, maybe 2-3 then add spinach. Allow it to heat up but I find stirring and burying the spinach helps it cook through nicely. Stir until spinach is soft. If you choose to add cream, which I recommend, add it now. Stir into the skillet until the sauce is pink and cream is cooked through. Meal is now ready for serving. I had it with a glass of Alamos Malbec.

Because I didn't have proper measurements and at the time I was eating post race, I definitely ate more than one servings worth. So the following recipe's nutrition facts could be off but it is a good estimate of what you are putting in your body at least. I definitely doubled my servings post race. The great thing about this recipe is it can be made with flexibility. If I had my way, I would've added chopped sweet onion and maybe a few other ingredients/spices. That said, I hope you enjoy this recipe and if you have any additions or variations that you tried that are worth noting and that you loved, please comment below! Would love to hear from you!

Sorry for the lack of photos, didn't make this meal to post it but damn was it good and has since been requested. Next time I cook it, I'll try to remember to take photos!

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