This is one of those meals that you can cook once, and eat two or three more times! #leftoversaremyjam

Seriously, this pasta bake is going to knock your socks off because not only is it healthy, but it only requires 8 ingredients! 

I recently made this pasta bake for a friend who just had a baby and the text I received the next day was, "so yeaaaa I'm gonna need that recipe." 

ARE YOU READY TO HEALTH-UP YOUR PASTA NIGHT AT HOME? 

Grab some wine or sparkling water and let's make this simple pasta bake feel fancy shmancy! 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 tbsp of butter, ghee or olive oil 
• 2 lbs. of Italian sausage (chicken, turkey or pork and remove casings) 
• 1- 15 oz. can organic pumpkin 
• 2 cups tomato marinara sauce
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 4 cups of kale, chopped
• 1/2 cup feta, add more for serving if you wish 
• 2- 8 oz. boxes of penne pasta (lentil, chickpea, or whole wheat) 

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1.  In a large skillet on medium-high heat, add butter and Italian sausage, breaking apart as it is cooking.

2.  While meat is cooking, cook penne accordingly to packaged directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees too! 

3.  After meat has finished cooking, add in the pumpkin, tomato marinara sauce, nutmeg and chopped kale.

4.  Stir sauce altogether and let simmer on low for about 5 minutes.

5.  Once pasta has finished cooking, drain and put into a large baking dish. 

6.  Add sauce and feta into the baking dish as well and stir gently together. 
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7.  Bake covered for about 10-15 minutes and enjoy this AMAZING PASTA DISH! 


Always craving health & happiness,
                     Jillian 


P.S. If you're digging this simple & healthy recipe and want more to come to your inbox then check out my new program >>> SIMPLIFY MY MEALS (Doors Close May 21st!)  or join our cozy community list and get yourself a FREE SIMPLE MEAL PLANNER why you're at it! 

MEATS:
✔️ 2 lbs. Applegate hotdogs (no nitrates) 
✔️ 2 lbs. organic ground chicken
✔️ Applegate prosciutto (no nitrates) 
✔️ Applegate pepperoni OR salami (no nitrates)

PANTRY:
✔️ 1 box lentil or chickpea pasta*
✔️ 1 can organic black beans
✔️ 1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
✔️ 1- 2 bags of Siete Foods tortilla chips or organic corn chips (Late July is also a great brand) 
✔️ 1 loaf of sourdough bread
✔️ Whole pizza crust or whole wheat tortillas (Brooklyn BRED is a great brand)  
✔️ 1 jar of Organice Marinara Sauce (Muir Glen is a great brand) 
✔️ 1 jar of Organic Salsa

DAIRY:
✔️ 2 blocks sharp cheddar cheese (or you can buy shredded)
✔️ 1 block Monterey Jack cheese (or you can buy shredded) 
✔️ 16 oz. Mozzarella cheese
✔️ Plain Greek Yogurt (Fage and Siggis are great brands we use as "sour cream" for nachos) 

VEGGIES:
✔️ Organic Kale
✔️ Organic Baby Spinach
✔️ Organic Arugula
✔️ Organic broccoli **
✔️ Yellow and Red Pepper 
✔️ 1-2 Avocados 
✔️ 1 Yellow onion

FREEZER: 
✔️ Mini tots (Cascadian Farm and Alexia are good brands) 

SPICES: 
✔️ Garlic Powder
✔️ Dried Basil
✔️ Fresh Cilantro

*If you prefer not to make your own mac-n-cheese, Annie's mac-n-cheese is a healthy shortcut. 
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To make homemade mac-n-cheese, cook pasta according to packaged directions.  Then heat 2-3 tbsp. of butter in a large pot or pan, add in chopped kale or chopped broccoli to saute for 5 minutes.  Next, add in cooked noodles, tons of cheese, a little bit of milk (plain almond milk works too) , salt, pepper, garlic powder and stir altogether.  Once cheese has melted, dive on in friends! 

A typical pasta night can be transformed into something gloriously different than your average spaghetti and meatballs.  I'm just a girl, trying to spread some health love to the beautiful pasta that is RAVIOLI.  

I intentionally kept marinara and tomato sauce out of this recipe because I wanted a change to the typical pasta dishes that we cook.  The combination of Italian sausage, kale and lemon juice is seriously out of this world.  This flavor combination is so simple, yet so freakin' flavorful. 

I hope you enjoy a new twist to your usual pasta night. 

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• 2 lbs of Italian sausage, casings removed
• 4 cups of kale, thick stems removed, leaves roughly chopped
• Sea salt and pepper, to taste
• 36 oz. of Ravioli, your choice (We really enjoy La Pasta Spinach & Aritchoke Ravioli and Beet, Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Ravioli) 
• 1 Lemon, for cooking and serving
• Shredded parmesean, for serving (optional) 

1.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.

2.  Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbs. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the Italian sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until browned, 8-10 minutes. 

3.  Add the kale, and season with salt and pepper.  Mix the kale and sausage together, and turn heat on low and cover.  Let this cook for about 5 minutes. Once kale has wilted, squeeze in the juice of 1/2 of a lemon and stir gently.  

4.  Once water has boiled in your large pot, add in ravioli and cook according to package directions.  Drain ravioli when finished. 

5.  Serve ravioli topped with a heavy spoonful of your sausage and lemony kale mixture, then top with shredded parmsean.  Serve with a wedge of lemon for some added flavor to make your tastebuds go WOW! 

One Saturday afternoon I decided to do a quick pantry dump (#lessfoodwaste), and realized I had multiple cans of pumpkin puree just waiting to be turned into a tasty treat.  My mind immediately thought..."Let's make MAPLE PUMPKIN BREAD!"

But, there was one tiny problem. I had ZERO whole wheat flour, EEEK! 

Luckily that day I did have almond meal/almond flour in my pantry, so I decided to conduct a lil' baking experiment (cue scene to Dexter's Laboratory).  This recipe was such a success that my entire family devoured it in just 4 hours.  Needless to say this pumpkin bread recipe is PRETTY. DARN. DELICIOUS. 

​That is the story on how the GRAIN-FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN BREAD was born into existence, in case you were curious. :)

Ingredients:

WET

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1- 15 oz. can of organic pumpkin puree 

DRY

• 2 cups of almond meal or almond flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal) 
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice or cinnamon (optional)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt 
• 3/4 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2.  In a large mixing bowl, add all wet ingredients and whisk together.  

3.  Next, add in slowly all the dry ingredients (save some Chocoloate Chips for the topping) in with the wet ingredients.  Whisk these together until most of the flour clumps have dissipated. 

4.  Grease a loaf baking pan with coconut oil and pour in your beautiful orange batter. 

5.  Top with more chocolate chips and bake bread for 45-50 minutes. 

7.  Let bread cool for about 10-15 minutes before slicing.  The bread will fall apart if you don't wait for it to cool down, trust me. 


If you dig this recipe, I would absolutely LOVE for you to share it with me by commenting below or shouting out to me on instagram at The Clean and Simple Life! 

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        Always craving good food,
                            Jillian