I’m going to make a point to post more recipes on the blog and on social media. My husband and I love to cook and although we get inspiration from other recipes and often wing a few of our own, I’ve found myself posting more on stories than to the feed or blog. So, today I am going to start being better about filming and sharing these for you to keep (feed, blog, IGTV) whether you LIKE it or not 😉

Last night, I was inspired by Melissa Wood Health’s Cheesy Greens Pasta. I know, I’ve been posting a lot about her lately. I’ve been following her for a while (she’s from Syracuse too) and have always loved her energy but have finally made a point to do the work, her workouts, and now that I’ve been following her routine… I’m hooked. I’ve made some changes in this recipe as I’m not vegan and wanted to include the scallops we were waiting to use.

INGREDIENTS:

• Brown Rice Pasta (half of box)
• Homemade Pesto (two large scoops)
• Broccoli (two small heads)
• Spinach (one large handful)
• Cherry Tomatoes (1/2 a cup)
• Garlic (2 cloves, I use the frozen cubes to make it easier)
• Scallops (mainly for JJ and I, used about 8 medium size to small pieces)

DIRECTIONS:

Add broccoli to a pan with water to soften for about 4 minutes. Turn oven on 350 degrees and add the broccoli to a pan with salt, pepper, and olive oil to roast (about 10 minutes).

While the broccoli is cooking, make the homemade pesto. If you don’t have the time to make it yourself, I really enjoy Trader Joe’s Pesto as an alternative.

Start a pot of water for the brown rice pasta and look until ala dente. In the mean time, add butter in a pan with salt, pepper, and scallops. Took for about two minutes on each side and take the scallops out so they do not overcook. You can of course use chicken, shrimp, or more vegetables in this dish as well.

In the pan that you cooked the scallops, add the broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and garlic. Cook for about two minutes then add the cooked pasta in. I add it slowly as I like to gauge the amount of pasta needed vs. just adding it all. Sometimes, you don’t need as much as you think. *Before you drain the pasta, be sure to keep about a cup or so of pasta water.

Add in one to two gallops of pesto to the pasta. To loosen the sauce, add in some water as you go. Add a handful of spinach until wilted. Continue to add more pesto or pasta water to your liking. You don’t need anymore cheese as the pesto has quite a bit. I love letting my pasta sit in the sauce until it is fully cooked to soak up all those flavors. Once everything is mixed together, I included the scallops at the end so they were mixed in but not long enough to continue to cook.

Kids: Mine can be a little picky, even with pasta. I took out the spinach and scallops (I forgot TBH) and served it with a side of fruit. They really enjoyed it.

Enjoy!