Greens + Protein + Sauce + Pasta (specifically Kale & Turkey Pesto Pasta, here)

Pasta is always a quick, easy dinner option that you can make tons of different combinations of using the classic formula:

Greens + Protein + Sauce + Pasta = it's usually good

Use whatever you have on hand. On this particular day, I had...

Greens = kale
Protein = ground turkey
Sauce = pesto
Pasta = penne

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb pasta (me: penne)
• 1lb protein (me: ground turkey that was on Manager's Special)
• 2 handfuls of greens (me: kale that was freeeeeee)
• some tablespoons of sauce (me: the legendary Costco pesto)
• other seasonings to taste--I used salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Methodology

Cook up the pasta according to box instructions.

Cook up the meat.

For me, I cooked up the ground turkey and broke it up into small bits. Since it was pretty lean, I left whatever oil that came out in the pan as ~~ extra flavor~~.

Add the greens and wilt them down. That might mean adding some water and popping a lid on the pan to let things steam.

Add the cooked drained pasta.

Mix in the sauce, and season to taste.

Results

Would make again and have made. I would have loved it if I had some tomato on hand to pop in for a little acidity and color, but this was still good.

What's cool about a dish like this is that you can cook it completely from freezer/pantry ingredients too--like you could keep frozen ground meat and veggies in the freezer and combine it with the sauce and pasta that you have in the pantry--so it's a satisfying and balanced meal you can always have on hand. Cooking doesn't have to be hard!