The Best Dish Ever
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I'm going to kick off this post with the biggest shoutout to the best husband in the entire world.
On Friday, I made a big pot of chili, because I knew that I would be working all weekend, and I wanted to have food already made to pack for my lunch. Also, my parents were coming over to help us put up blinds on Saturday, so I made enough for them to have for lunch.
Anyway, after work on Saturday, I was hungry. I mean, I'm always hungry, but like, I was really hungry. I called Elliot to ask if there was enough chili for me to have some when I got home and also have some for lunch Sunday. He said, yes, there was plenty, and I was a happy camper.
So I get home, right? And this man is in the kitchen, at 8pm, making my favorite meal in the entire world, Tuscan Skillet.
I almost cried. Real tears.
Elliot is an absolutely phenomenal cook, and there's nothing he makes that isn't good.
But, friends.
I always feel bad that I say this simple meal is my favorite, because he makes some really elaborate, totally decadent meals, but this one really does take the cake.
He always laughs at me, because I'm basically crying tears of pure joy at this meal, and he's like, "Babe, it takes 30 minutes to make this. It's so simple. You can have it anytime you want."
And friends, I wish it were so.
But if I ate Tuscan Skillet as often as I would like, I would be the size of my house. Why? I'll tell you a secret.
It's not the healthiest meal.
GASP.
It's not outrageously unhealthy, per se. But there's cream, and tortellini, and sausage.
And it is heavenly.
It occurred to me that it was basically a crime to have kept it from you all for this long. I'm sorry. That was so rude of me.
ANYWAY, we discovered this gem several years ago when we were dating. Elliot had offered to make dinner for us at my parents house, and had arrived there as I was getting off work. I called him and told him I was starving (are we sensing a trend, here?) and I needed food STAT.
He found this 20 minute recipe on Pinterest, and I've been hooked ever since. Also, the recipe is super simple and you probably have everything you need in your pantry already.
And because I'm so nice, I'm sharing it with you HERE. Try it. You will LOVE it.
Side Note: The only tweak we've made is to add the spinach at the very end, so it's not too wilted. And we only add the spinach to each individual serving. So if you're packing it for leftovers, we throw the fresh spinach in the bottom of the container first, then the pasta on top, so that it's "freshly wilted" with each serving. Nobody likes their spinach over-wilted. yuck.
P.S.- If you're on the hunt for new to-go containers, we've used these for years and will never go back to regular Tupperware. They're microwaveable, leak-proof, last forever, and the best part - they don't stain from, you guessed it, pasta sauce!
Real quick, though, I'd like to throw out a disclaimer.
I'm a "blogger"(I still feel weird identifying as such, but, oh well, it's accurate), and I write about healthy habits and meals and things sometimes. So I don't want to be inauthentic by sharing with you a not-so-healthy recipe, when I usually make a point to share healthy ones.
I'm a human, just like you, and life is about balance. So I'm gonna keep it real.
And as a blogger, it's so easy to not be real.
It's so easy to tell you all that I work out 5 days a week, and only eat super-healthy food and that's why I have all these healthy meal ideas to share with you.
It's easy, because it's a lie.
I would be lying. And as easy as that would be, I absolutely refuse to get sucked into that.
So here's the truth. I eat relatively healthy. We have a rotation of healthy meals that we try to stick with 75% of the time. We do a lot of grilled or baked chicken, and a lot of veggies. And you all already know I'm obsessed with my Instant Pot.
However, I also love pasta. And my husband knows it, so he made my favorite dish, because I mentioned last week that we haven't had it in probably a year or so.
While we're being honest, I LOVE Red Robin. I don't know why, but there is nothing on their menu that I'm not down with. And I can't eat there without ordering an onion ring tower and a chocolate malt milkshake. It just cannot be done.
So, in all transparency, I absolutely indulge sometimes.
Also, it's January. Thank goodness for grace and sweater weather.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13