Greek Yogurt Pasta

Creamy pasta sauces are one of the worst foods out there, packed with TONS of calories, mostly coming from fat.  A dinner sized portion of Chicken Fettucini Alfredo from a popular Italian restaurant will cost you about 1400 calories and upwards of 80 grams of fat, half of which are saturated fat grams (the artery clogging kind).  I saw this recipe for a creamy pasta sauce made with Greek yogurt and it really piqued my interest...

I changed up the original recipe by using whole wheat, omega-3 (healthy fats) enriched pasta and using the vegetables I had on hand.  The original recipe also called for shrimp, but I opted for chicken this time.  This recipe is mostly about the sauce anyways, you could really use it for whatever pasta, protein, veggie combo you like - in other words, its a great "clean out the fridge" recipe!  This is by no means an alfredo sauce, but it is a great alternative to your basic marinara.

I used the following:

1 box (~14 oz) whole wheat pasta

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

5-6 chicken breast tenders, thawed and cubed

1/3 large onion, diced

1-2 tablespoons minced garlic (I was being lazy and bought the jarred, pre-cut kind - probably 3 cloves worth)

1 zuchinni, diced

1 bag fresh spinach

1 small jar of marinara sauce

1/2 cup low fat or fat free plain Greek yogurt

small handful of 2% mozzarella cheese

Start by preparing pasta according to package directions (I never add salt or oil).  Drain water out and return to pot.

Meanwhile, saute chicken in olive oil for a few minutes, until it begins to turn white.

Add in the zucchini, garlic and onion. (You could also use mushrooms, tomatoes, squash, etc...)

Once veggies begin to soften and chicken is cooked through, 5-8 minutes, add spinach and cover for 2-3 minutes, until spinach is wilted.  You may need to remove lid and stir after about a minute or so.

To the pasta, add marinara sauce and yogurt.

Add chicken/veggie mixture to the pot, stir until everything is coated with sauce, add the mozzarella.  The mozzarella is optional, but I had it on hand so I thought I would use it to add a little more creaminess!

Stir together and it's done!

ENJOY!

4 Months

Sawyer Beth is 4 months old!

She was feeling a little bit under the weather following her 4 month shots so we didn't get too many smiles out of her.  At four months old she weighed 11 pounds 14 oz (18th%), measured 24.25 inches in length (54th%) and her head is 16 inches (44th%) - its grown 3 inches since she was born!

She is so cooperative with my obsessive picture taking!

She is still wearing size 1 diapers, size 0-3 month and 3 month clothes, but we are getting closer to moving up every day - I can't believe how quickly she is growing.

Sawyer's fourth month was full of firsts!  She is a great companion and makes is much easier to maintain our busy lives...she never complains and is easy going as ever.

Her first baseball game...

Her first softball game...

Her first football practice...

Her first track meet...

Her and Cora were such troopers and did a great job cheering on Aunt Brie!  

Sawyer met Sophie this month...don't be fooled by the terrified look on her face...she loves her.

She got to hang out with her friends at church...

Caroline, Sawyer, Beckham, Leighton

And she went to her first wedding...

With the Bride - Kristi - might have been a little bit past her bedtime at this point...

Sawyer & the Groom - Aaron

Thanks to both sets of grandparents for helping out with Sawyer, we had a great time at the wedding and spent our first night away from her.  We missed her tons, but it also nice to have a night to hang out together with friends.

Sawyer is a great eater, she has started to try to feed herself in the last couple of weeks and will often grab the sides of her bottle of our hands, but is still more than happy to hang out like a little monkey and be fed.

She laughs all the time now - it is the sweetest sound ever!!  She thinks "flying" is hysterical 

She has figured out that she can roll over onto her side.  She likes to snuggle with blankets, dolls, burp cloths or whatever else is near when she wants to go to sleep.  She has rolled over onto her belly a couple times on the bed and is super close on the floor.  But, once she gets onto her stomach, she gets really mad about it so we have to help her back over.

(I feel like I should clarify that we don't let her sleep with this stuff if we aren't watching.)  She grabs for anything and everything within reach, which then goes into her mouth - her play mat is way more fun now!

We are still working on the Lori/Sawyer relationship, but they are warming up to each other.  Sawyer now watches Lori when she is running around like a maniac in the back yard and Lori doesn't turn her nose up every time Sawyer is near - baby steps!

The biggest change of all this month is that Sawyer now goes to school.  It was REALLY hard on me the first couple of days.  I realize that it is never going to be easy to leave her but I love her school and her teachers, so, I am ok with it.  I feel very blessed to have a job that I absolutely love and that makes it easier as well.  Plus, they send home these sweet reports every day...this was from her first day.

And they do art projects, so I now have something to hang on my fridge!

It has been quite a busy month, but - as cheesy as it sounds - Sawyer makes it all more fun!  

I love my little family!!

PS...could Barry & Sawyer look any more alike?!?  So unfair.

Spring Break 2012

I am so behind on my blogging - but, in my defense (major excuse) our internet at home hardly works - to be fixed tomorrow - FINALLY!

So, I am playing catch up today.  Sawyer had quite an eventful spring break this year.  We spent the first weekend in Yoakum hanging with family.

We had a really nice low-key weekend of nothing!  Then on Monday, Sawyer's Grandma, Aunts Tammy& Cara & her cousins, Brody & Blake came down to Houston to go to the zoo - we were all really impressed with the Houston zoo and had another fun day hanging out.

Tuesday night my Mom & Mimi came down to Houston to hang out with Sawyer because I still had to work.  Sawyer got to do a lot of relaxing!

Thursday was Cora's first birthday!  Becky and Michael planned to bring her down and take her to the Children's Museum that night - but the rest of Houston had the same plans.  So, we walked around the Houston Garden Center and Herman Park instead.

Then Sunday was Cora's First Fiesta!

She is way into clapping!

We had a really nice week - got to see a lot of family and spend a lot of time together.  Too bad Spring Break only comes around once a year.