late girl's guide | kale & sausage pasta alfredo

I know a fair share of people who started the new year with diets in mind -- diets not including pasta. For me, when the weather is cold and gray, I crave comfort food, diet or not. 

This recipe includes some great fresh ingredients (hello, kale), lighter meat (turkey sausage), is easy to make and cures the winter blues. Well, mine anyway.

1. Prep - Slice the sausage. Wash and cut the kale bunches. 

2. Pan sear the sausage, seasoned with Italian seasoning and fresh garlic. Boil pasta on the side. 

3. Five minutes before the sausage is done, put the kale in the pan to cook lightly. 

4. When the kale, sausage and pasta are done, mix together in a bowl with alfredo sauce. 

late girl's guide | date night dinner

If there's one golden nugget of mom advice I've gotten regarding food that I stick to, it's this: if you love to eat, you'd better know how to cook. And trust me, I love to eat. That said, the older I've gotten the more excited I am about cooking (especially now that I have someone to cook for. If it were just for me I'd just survive off of whatever was in the pantry.)

The one thing that gets in the way of that these days is time, or the lack thereof. Eating at restaurants are more convenient but it'll leave you thinking, "did I spend that much on eating out this week alone? Good lord." To save money and use the little time I have wisely, I've been experimenting with faster recipes like this flavorful one for lemon pepper tilapia.

Once you've got all of your ingredients, you're set.

1. Season the tilapia according to your taste.
2. Butter the baking dish and put dabs of butter on the fish. 
3. Squeeze some lemon juice over the tilapia.
4. bake at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes if fresh or 15-20 if frozen. 
Lemon pepper tilapia is light, fresh and flavorful. It goes well with just a salad, mixed veggies or rice pilaf (from a box to save time, obviously).