#MeatlessMonday: Garlic Parmesan Kale Pasta

A few weeks ago I decided to start partaking in the trendy foodie routine of abstaining from meat on Monday, commonly known by its cute hashtag title #MeatlessMonday. There are several reasons for one to do this and I was looking to satisfy several of them. Participating in #MeatlessMonday is a great way to include more vegetables into your diet, gives you at least one healthy meal during the week, gets your week off to a healthy start and, if you’re like me and do not cook vegetarian meals often, forces you to try some new recipes with ingredients you possibly haven’t cooked with.

And while I decided to actually do this a few weeks ago, I finally got around to doing it tonight with this sweet recipe from frequent blog inspiration Budget Bytes.

A few days ago Beth posted this great recipe for Garlic Parmesan Kale Pasta and I wanted to give it a shot. Kale is something I’ve never actually purchased, let alone cooked with, let alone made the main attraction of my dinner menu. This recipe called for mainly items I already had on hand, gives a heaping helping of healthy fats and vegetables and is the opposite of time-consuming.

Please visit BudgetBytes.com to get the full recipe.

I was a little apprehensive about using this huge bag of kale I had purchased a few days ago but was happy to see that after sautéing for a relatively short amount of time in equal parts butter, EVOO and minced garlic it began to wilt down – almost to the point I was afraid I didn’t have enough! After heating the kale through and boiling the angel hair pasta, I tossed together with some fresh grated parmesan cheese and, after ripping off Beth’s recommended serving addition, topped with a sunny-side up egg.

The parmesan and the fats came together to make this pasta dish surprisingly flavorful despite there being very few ingredients. I’ll have to say the egg was a spot-on recommendation, too!