Light Dinner for a Hot Day

Yesterday was hot.  Like, kinda crazy hot.  I had made a lasagna Sunday night that I was planning to serve for dinner last night, but the idea of hot heavy lasagna after such a hot day just wasn't very appetizing.

Instead, I decided to make a quick pasta dish that I made once before and both Josh and I really liked it.  It's easy and fast to make - necessities for weeknight dinners since I get home so late and we're both so hungry.

Pasta with Asparagus:

• 1 pound asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
• 8 ounces pasta 
• 1 tablespoon whipped butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more if you like it hot - I don't, I'm a wuss)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (divided)

First, get the water boiling for your pasta.  I normally use whole wheat pasta but last night I tried the Ronzoni Smart Taste.  It tastes like white pasta but has added fiber - both Josh and I really liked it!  I just had to be careful because this box is 12 oz, not 16 oz like a normal box of pasta.  I cooked the whole box but only used 2/3 for this recipe.

Next you're going to want to wash, dry and trim your asparagus.  Then cut into 1 inch pieces.

Get a pan on the stove on medium heat.  Melt the whipped butter with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil.  Once melted, add in the garlic and red pepper flakes.  Stir that for a minute or so until you can start to smell it.  Then add the asparagus, salt & pepper and stir to coat.

At this point my water was boiled so I dropped my pasta.  The box said for al dente to cook for 10 minutes so I set my timer (because Josh and I really like the pasta al dente and not overcooked), which was perfect because the asparagus took 10 minutes to cook as well.  You want to cook it until it's just tender.  Take the asparagus off the heat and add your cooked pasta.  Add the other 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/8 cup of parmesan and stir it all together!

picture shows about half the pasta - I forgot to get a picture before I served the first bowl

Divide the remaining 1/8 cup parmesan cheese among the bowls.

This was delicious and filling, but light at the same time. 

Now that I'm trying to follow weight watchers a little more I decided to put this recipe into their recipe builder.  The total recipe as listed comes to 27 points, so depending how many servings you get from it (we got 3) it is even a point friendly meal - definitely worth the 9 points!