Asparagus Pasta Bake (With or Without Meat) Filed under ( Healthy, Italian, Turkey, Vegetables, vegetarian )

Happy Wednesday- we're halfway there :) This week, I really feel like spring/summer is here! The weather is warm (80-90 degrees by the end of the week in Charleston!!) and the first farmers market is hitting downtown on Saturday. Given this, I felt inspired to make a spring-ish pasta dish. This dish can be made with or without meat. I made Josh's version with ground turkey.

Ingredients:

• 1 bundle of asparagus chopped
• 1/2 box pasta (desired shape)
• ~2 1/2 cups pasta sauce (homemade or store bought)
• 7-8 ounces part skim ricotta
• 1/2 lb ground turkey (if desired)
• olive oil
• 1/2-1 cup part skim mozzarella, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add turkey, and cook through until no longer pink.


Cook pasta to al dente (according to package directions). In the last two minutes of cooking, add in the chopped asparagus. Drain, but do not rinse.

In a bowl, mix together ricotta and pasta sauce.

Then add all other ingredients and mix well.

Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and fill with mixture.

Top with mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes.

I love pasta dishes. You can make a large dish and eat it throughout the week.

How are your workouts coming this week? Are you taking advantage of the weather and getting in some outdoor runs? My teaching schedule is still pretty heavy, so I haven't been able to squeeze in any outdoor runs (but I hope to next month!). I have enjoyed walking Frank more frequently, which is leading to one tired bulldog:

Enjoy the rest of the week!!