Good evening, Ragazzi!! (I’m not an expert, but I’m gonna pretend I’m certain that means boys and girls)

Monday’s been a long day for me.  I hit the office early and running and stuck around late to clock in some extra time (as I’ll be doing all week).  I hate hate hate taking vacation time if I think I can make it up during the week and, since I’ll be taking about a half-day on Friday for my travels to the Healthy Living Summit (I’d stop linking, but it’s addictive), I’ll be trying to earn about an hour extra each day. Then, voila! guilt free time off on Friday to schmooze with all the friends and blends-to-be (P.S. since I don’t even think I mentioned it, this one time I did a Guest Post for Alexa of Simple Eats a while back about how I make friends in new places… there’s even a picture of me and Jason Segel so check it out.)

At work, for a snack, I enjoyed some strawberries, an Adora Calcium disk, and some seeds. It was just like a tasty bird food mix up.

Paired with a side of Coke Zero

Now that I’m done shamelessly promoting myself (which is needed since I’m the only one who ever read/commented on my own guest post) and my snacks, it’s time to get to the meat of the day.  Or, in this case, the meatBALLS.

To get there, though, we have to go back.  Old school….

One time, for one month, I lived in Florence, Italy, home of Michaelangelo, Amerigo Vespucci, Acqua al Due (which fed me the greatest steak of my life), and (more recently), my twin, Snookie.

Only one? Come on, Jordan!

That's my goal... Only I'd never ever smoke a cigarette. YUCK! (click for Source)

Italy was a glorious place to live, even just for a month.  Only all… we ever…. ate… was pasta.

Pasta and Nutella

Pasta with veggies, pasta with sauce, pasta with prawns, pasta with pepperoni, pasta with meat…..

By the end of the month, I was so sick of pasta I never wanted to see it again.  And honestly, since then, it very rarely has.  Unless I felt obliged to eat it due to being at someone’s home (as a guest), I avoided it like the plague.  But tonight, after saving my poor little basil plant , I was inspired.  It helped that sauce and pasta was on sale too….

I purchased a package of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Spaghetti at the store (sticking with the whole grains, though not too low carb…)

Snagged picture, click for the Source!

I also snagged some turkey meatballs from Harris Teeter and some sauce I already had on hand…

In a little sauce-pan, I sauteed some spinach and green peppers, several leaves from that dear basil plant, then added the sauce, and some tomatoes.  Once the pasta was sufficiently done (I like it tender, not a bit al dente), I threw it in a big ol’ bowl with about 3-5 of the turkey meatballs, and covered it in a few sprinkles of reduced fat mozzarella cheese, OODLES of crushed red pepper and dried oregano, and gobbled it up like I hadn’t eaten pasta in years (when it may have actually been a year.)

Pas-TASTIC!

Loved the effect the basil had, and how hearty the meal tasted even though I went with less-pasta and much more veggies. Pasta made a triumphant return in my life, and (if I always make it this veggie laden) I foresee it becoming a repeat offender.

Even though I was, for the most part, full, I wanted to chase it down with a tiny sweet treat….

Pillsbury Sweet Moments Brownie Bites in Cocoa Caramel Obsession

There were 12 of these tiny nibblets in a package, and I limited Ry and myself to 2 each (so we could feasibly repeat this 2 more nights!)

I’m gonna shoot you straight, as tiny as they were, they tasted like tiny gooey bites of sweet, delicious sin. I could EASILY have wolfed all 12 of them down, but the 2 that I enjoyed were a perfect 120 calorie way to end my night on a sweet note.

I forgot to take a shot of their size, but luckily someone else did that for me (see Finding Inspiration in Food’s review for a finger comparison!)  I love caramel mixed with chocolate, and anything that combines them in an itty bitty bite is even more enjoyable.  I found these at Harris Teeter for $2.50 and had a $1/off coupon so it was a bargain.  You can get your own coupon at the Pillsbury site (just make sure you have a printer ready!)

All in all, this has been a top notch Monday, as far as Mondays go…. and in due time (3.5-ish days…. but who’s counting?) I’ll be on a plane headed North!

Do you like pasta?  If so, how do you like it (shape, sauce, cooking style, veggies or meat)?

What’s your favorite weeknight “dessert” that doesn’t kill the calorie intake but satisfies your sweet tooth?