Lunch Week 13: Pasta with Summer Vegetables

So every Sunday, I head over to the kitchen to whip up a big batch of food for lunch next week. Yes, I brown bag. And I almost always do it, unless I become too busy to even buy cold cuts from the deli. I do it for several reasons being health, finance, and laziness. Now, you may think that spending hours on a day off to prep and cook five meals at once is hardly lazy. But let me remind you, I hate it when the time comes to decide what to eat for lunch every day. I work in Midtown so the choices are endless. My problem, the more choices, the harder it is for me. So it's much easier for me to have my lunch ready and already decided.

So my lunch for the week: Pasta with Summer Vegetables

I'm excited about the warmer weather. Not only is it nice to actually walk around now, but lots of spring produce is being harvested right now. So, in celebration of the lovely season, I made a lighter pasta salad with copious amounts of vegetables.

But first, the meat. I always like to have some kind of protein in my lunch to keep me full and satisfied. So I bought some chicken sausage from the market. I didn't pick chicken sausage because it's healthier (it's usually not) but for the flavor. I believe this was garlic flavored as well.

Into a hot pan with oil it goes. Don't touch it until it turns nice and brown on one side. Flip and repeat.

Once cooked through, I let it rest on the cutting board then sliced it up into bite sized pieces.

And now the vegetables. I decided to use some zucchini, summer squash, and eggplant.

I sliced them in half them sliced them again into medallions about a 1/4 inch thick.

Add a little more oil to the same pan you used for the sausage, then add the vegetables in. I did not add salt at this point because I wanted the veggies to brown nicely and retain their shape. When cooked, I added salt and let them release some of their liquid.

While the vegetables cooked, I boiled some farfalle (bowtie) pasta in salted water. Once cooked through, I drained it and tossed it in some tomato sauce. Then the spring mix went in. Use the residual heat from the pasta and sauce to wilt the greens down. If that doesn't work, then tossing in the cooked vegetables will. And don't forget that yummy sausage. Toss that in too. Keep tossing until everything is lightly coated with the tomato cause and the greens have wilted.

And there you go. A nice and light spring lunch that will keep you satisfied through the afternoon and keep your waistline and wallet friendly.