NOTE TO READERS: This recipe is a family favorite that appeared here on my blog prior to my eating according to the Trim Healthy Mama plan or becoming a THM Certified Lifestyle Coach. I am sharing it here again now that I have THM-ified it. While it tastes fabulous, remember that it is a “Crossover” if brown rice pasta is used and that you will need to adhere to serving sizes on the pasta in order not to consume too many carbs in this meal. The best way to eat your fill is to serve this recipe over THM’s Ancient Wisdom Noodles, Zoodles or any “on-plan” konjac noodles found in stores!

It’s time for another great recipe! This one is one of my inventions, and will appeal to everyone who likes things flavorful. While not hot and spicy, it certainly isn’t bland.

Why Saturday, you ask? No particular reason, except that Saturdays around our house seem to turn into project days, with Smuffy working on his and me working on mine. Smuffy likes to sleep in on Saturdays before launching into some DIY project that makes a lot of noise and is likely to stink up the place.  I’m just thankful that only a couple of them have landed him in the emergency room.

It has always amazed me that no matter how late Smuffy sleeps, the “rumbly in his tumbly”, as Winnie the Pooh would say, speaks to him at the same time every day. Though he may have slept till ten and lingered over breakfast, he reappears at noon on the dot, looking weak in the knees and asking what’s for lunch.

I’ve wondered if it isn’t triggered by sound. For years, Smuffy has come home for lunch, Monday through Friday at noon on the dot, to the tune of the neighborhood church bells. They chime various lovely hymns a couple of times a day. Perhaps on Saturday, at the sound of the noon bells, he thinks he’s hungry. Have the bells trained him to eat at noon, no matter what? I think that’s how they do it with rats in a maze, although perhaps not with hymns.

Often, I’ve stood there, wondering what on earth I’m going to fix so that I can get on with my own project. Neither of us wants to go out. Meat is frozen. My mind is blank.

Then came this idea. I threw it together so fast I hardly knew how I did it. Smuffy says it’s hearty, healthy and “restaurant good”. It must be, because he likes variety, yet I can pretty much toss this together on any busy weekend and he’ll happily gobble it up. That’s really saying something, considering it has no meat! Smuffy likes meat – a lot!

You can make this a meal by using it as a side dish alongside your chosen meat or fish as your protein, or you can save a little room in your tummy for a chocolate or chai collagen trimmy afterward.  Another option would be to incorporate some cooked chicken breast into the recipe.

Also, it has no dairy! I know some of you have been waiting for recipes like that. With no sugar and the only grain being brown rice pasta if you choose to use it, the healthy eaters can’t go wrong.  See my note at the top about pasta vs. other noodle options.

A few notes before we start:

1. Don’t get hung up about it! I make this with what I have. I’m giving you the perfected version. Make it this way the first time, just so you know what you’ve been missing. Then, you can always try some of the things I’ve experimented with along the way, such as zucchini instead of spinach, etc. We would never make it without the sun-dried tomatoes. We think they really make the dish.
2. Don’t be a snob. Use fresh mushrooms if you can, but if you’re out, by all means use canned mushrooms.
3. I did not grow up in a kitchen where everything was the finest and best (although most of it was homegrown), but I’ve learned something. Though I’m frugal, I’ve learned that it’s better to pay for good ingredients and have good food I enjoy. It’s so much easier to say no to junk food when I’ve just created something healthy and delicious. That’s why I’m recommending brands on three ingredients. Jovial Brown Rice Pastas are fabulous! They came highly recommended by America’s Test Kitchen. Through the years, I’ve tried innumerable substitutes for white flour pasta. This one is the hands-down winner. Jovial Pasta People – I love you! Smuffy says he can’t tell the difference between it and “regular” pasta. I’ve bought the spaghetti and the lasagna noodles and they’re both great. Once you try this, you may want to check around for a bulk price.  Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil, one of the top two olive oils recommended by America’s Test Kitchen, has become a staple item in my kitchen. Ah – the flavor! In case you haven’t heard, there’s a whole big deal out there concerning olive oils and which companies you can trust. You may not be getting what you think in those beautiful bottles. Colavita is the real deal, and it makes this recipe delicious. I get it at my local supermarket in bottles and also in bulk, where I can get a deal on large tins.  The Select olive oil found at Aldi is also nice.  Trim Healthy Mama’s Ancient Wisdom Noodles are wonderful in this recipe, although since a lot of folks are also wild about them, they are out of stock at times.  I did find another brand of konjac noodles once in Sprouts that also have that bit of oat fiber that makes all the difference in the texture so check there if you can’t get any THM.  Other brands of konjac noodles will be “on plan” as well as spiralized zucchini.  Somehow, I tend to think the zucchini version of this recipe would be a bit lacking.
4. Speaking of oils (and we’ll cover this in more detail in a future post), there are three oils in this recipe for a reason. Butter adds flavor, but tends to burn. Coconut oil resists burning and keeps the butter from browning without changing the flavor. I keep both kinds of coconut oil on hand – refined and unrefined (or extra virgin). You’ll want refined for this. Olive oil, though not a trans fat, does (just as most of the other oils do) turn to a trans fat when heated. It should be used to “dress” the dish when finished.
5. Don’t be lily-livered and leave out the “heat”! There are not enough red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper in this to make it spicy, but we find it necessary to give the recipe that certain what-cha-ma-call-it that has you making yummy-nummy noises while you eat it.

Let’s get cooking. This goes together in the time it takes your water to come to a boil and your pasta to cook. Don’t forget your FREE printable below.

Saturday Pasta

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon refined coconut oil

½ large onion, (slice thin, then quarter the slices)

1/3  cup sun-dried tomatoes, snipped into small pieces with scissors) I use the ones in the bag and reconstitute them in warm water for a bit while I work on the rest of the recipe.

1 (4 ounce) can mushrooms or, preferably, fresh mushrooms

4 ounces fresh spinach

1 or 2 packages of THM Ancient Wisdom Noodles or 5 to 6 ounces Jovial Brown Rice Spaghetti

20 Kalamata olives, sliced (½ of a 6 ounce jar)

¼ cup (or more, or less) Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

A “sprinkle” of cayenne pepper

Mineral salt

In a large skillet, heat butter and coconut oil over medium heat. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil if you are using the brown rice pasta.  If using Ancient Wisdom Noodles, rinse and drain them into a colander and they’ll be ready to toss in when you need them.

Add onions to the skillet and stir.

In a small custard cup, pour a little water (approximately 3 Tablespoons)over the sun-dried tomatoes. Microwave them on on high for one minute or heat them in a small pan on the stove to reconstitute them. Set aside.

Add mushrooms and olives to the skillet. Stir. Lower heat so that onions do not begin to caramelize.

When water reaches a full boil, add pasta and ½ teaspoon mineral salt. Cook according to package instructions until al dente.

Meanwhile, pour one to two tablespoons olive oil into a large pasta bowl. Add red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper. Stir. Set aside.

Add spinach to the skillet. (This will fill the skillet.) Cook and stir until spinach wilts and mixes with the other ingredients.  Add sun-dried tomatoes (with liquid) to the mixture.

If you used pasta, drain it and add it to the pasta bowl. Toss to coat with the flavored oil. Add the skillet mixture, scraping the skillet clean with a spatula.

If you use Ancient Wisdom noodles, stir them in to the skillet mixture and heat, allowing them too cook a little and take on all the flavors.

Toss all the  ingredients together, then dress with olive oil. Season to taste with additional sea salt and more olive oil, if desired.

Serves – well, that depends!  If preparing a Crossover, the six ounces of pasta would be three servings in order to keep within reasonable carb limits.  If using the Ancient Wisdom Noodles, you’ll have an “S” meal and you can eat your fill and decide if you want to count a package as a single serving or share.  If you’re making this to share with others who are trimming down, use two packages of noodles and go a little heavy on the other ingredients for a bigger batch.

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You might also enjoy “Creamy Leek Soup with Chicken and Sweet Potato“.  Check it out here! 

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I crave your comments on this recipe when you try it, so let me know how it goes!