it was mine and nick's turn to cook for dinner group this week, and we decided to make this penne rosa with shrimp recipe that i found on pinterest. (minus the shrimp & penne. plus chicken & angel hair.) it turned out so well and will probably become a regular dinner for us because it was my three favorite things when it comes to cooking: easy. delicious. and healthy. sound too good to be true? try it for yourself. here's the recipe:

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces whole wheat penne (i used angel hair, just because we had a lot leftover from camping last weekend)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
  • 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced (i'm not the biggest fan of mushrooms, so i left these out)
  • 2 medium tomatoes (about 1/2 lb.) chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 4 cups fresh spinach
  • 10 ounces medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (i used chicken because unlike shrimp, everyone in our dinner group likes chicken)
  • 1/2 cup marinara sauce
  • 1/3 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Cook penne according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and set aside.
  2. In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add in garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for 2 minutes or until garlic begins to soften.
  3. Add in mushrooms, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to release their water.
  4. Turn heat up to medium-high and add in shrimp. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and opaque. Remove from heat, add in spinach and cover skillet. Let spinach wilt for 2 minutes.
  5. Remove lid and place skillet back over low heat. Add the penne, Greek yogurt and pasta sauce. Stir until sauce is mixed well and all pasta and veggies are coated. Heat until just warmed through. Divide into pasta bowls and serve topped with parmesan cheese.

this recipe is seriously a gem. so good. i highly recommend trying it.

after dinner group (even though i usually insist on not getting sucked into any more tv series than what i'm already addicted to), ashley convinced me to watch the first episode of revenge. i'm already hooked. i foresee a hiatus in my near future that consists of me ignoring everything i should be getting done and watching a million hours of revenge instead. 

after the episode we headed over to the quarry for their yoga class. i was really tired and kind of had to drag myself to go, but i'm so glad i did. it was a really mellow class and felt so good to just slow down and spend an hour focusing on breathing and stretching. and there's really no better feeling than right after you finish a yoga class.