Today was an awesome day of workouts for me, but since I have so much news, I will just breeze right through that stuff. I really enjoyed day one of Phase 2 of Carrie’s Slim n Sculpt especially since cardio was added! I ended up doing three miles before work and then doing another three after work, so I was more than happy with that. Now, on to the big news of the day!
Today marks a momentous occasion. Molly. Caught. A. Frisbee. Not once, but about ten times! Before I go into more detail (I bet you’re wondering how there could be more to that story), I wanted to share the recipe from the baked pasta from yesterday. It ended up being a huge hit around here so I would definitely recommend giving it a shot!
You can find Courtney’s recipe here and I used the same ingredients that she did.
Ingredients:
- 12 oz uncooked pasta cavatappi
- 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 3/4 cup jarred marinara sauce
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp jarred, minced garlic
- 1/2 bag fresh spinach leaves, chopped
- 8 Chicken Parmesan Meatballs (also Courtney’s recipe which I will post the ingredients for), diced
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp dried basil
- salt and fresh pepper to taste
- 8 oz fat-free ricotta
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups (8 oz) shredded part skim mozzarella
- olive oil cooking spray
Ingredients and Directions for Courtney’s Chicken Parm Meatballs:
I loosely followed the original instructions from Gina at SkinnyTaste so I will post those with any changes I made.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with olive oil spray.
In a large pot of water, cook pasta according to instructions until al dente. Drain and return to pot.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, add olive oil and sauté garlic. Add chopped spinach, marinara sauce and chopped tomatoes. Season with basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
Add sauce to the pasta and combine with the cavatappi. Add half of the mozzarella, half of the Parmesan cheese and all of the ricotta. Mix well then transfer to the baking pan.
Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned. Let it cool 5 minutes, then cut it into 8 equal portions.
I ended up prepping this meal in the morning and then refrigerating it until we were ready for dinner. Everything still tasted great so it would be easy to prep this meal before work and then pop it in the oven when we get home.
We had a salad on the side and dinner was a success! Since it was just the two of us, we’re having leftovers all week which is perfect because I have Halloween party planning on my mind! We have extra meatballs and we’re planning on maybe a couple of subs and some homemade pizzas.
Now, back to the important news about Molly’s new skillz! I think there is an important piece of information about me that you need in order to understand how cool this is. I have never really had a “fetching” dog. Our old dog, Roxy could catch but was too smart to play fetch, Molly doesn’t really know how to catch and is terrible at fetch (she thinks the game is to steal the ball from the thrower thing or steal the ball and make everyone chase her), and Daisy can play fetch but pretty much just in the living room. Basically I am in the market for a dog who can wow the crowds at the dog park…
I’ve always wanted to be able to take my dog to the park and just throw things while they repeatedly bring them back. Until today, my dream had never been realized. On Saturday at the dog park, Molly caught the Frisbee once and I applauded like she had won whatever award that would be noteworthy for a dog the Grammys. I’m sure everyone at the dog park thought I was a real amateur.
But today we took Molly to a park near our house and she caught the Frisbee so many times that I stopped keeping track (okay, it was at least 10 times). Needless to say, we were very impressed. If you are need of entertainment for a party or event, look no further. People are always wowed by dogs who can do menial tricks and not return the Frisbee afterwards.
Question:
If you have a pet, do they have any awesome tricks?
Who’s ready for HALLOWEEN??
Amazing! My little guy has absolutely no tricks. He looks at me like I’m an idiot when I try and get him to do something fun lol
Haha that’s how Molly usually is. We throw a ball, she sprints to it, picks it up, drops it after a second, and then runs back to us- worst game of fetch ever!
That’s awesome! I am pretty sure my dog cannot do that!
Thanks for the recipe! it looks so good!
Helene in Between
We were pretty shocked too! The recipe was awesome, so easy, and made some tasty leftovers all week.
Impressive skillz, Molly!! Sometimes I’m convinced my family’s dog is a cat. She can’t do many tricks and she hates swimming. Have I mentioned that she’s a lab?!! Labs are supposed to LOVE swimming!