Lemony Penne with White Beans & Spinach

Happy Monday!! Sadly our gorgeous sunny weekend has sped by and we're back into yet another work week. Are you still enjoying warm weather in your neck of the woods? It was warm and humid here and our office building was so hot! I struggled to keep my eyes open all afternoon because it was so warm. It felt great at the end of the day to step out into the cool breeze and get some fresh air. It's supposed to cool off into single digits tonight but I really hope the Spring weather is here to stay!! (I'm knocking on wood right as I type this :-))

This morning I woke up and thought to myself "I have no idea what I'm going to blog about!" I've been trying to decide what recipe I wanted to feature next and nothing has been exciting me....that was until I started catching up with all my favourite blogging buddies to see what everyone had been up to over the weekend. There were so many fabulous recipes posted over the past few days ~ I think I have inspiration to last me at least a week or two. I've bookmarked several new recipes that I must try in the very near future!

Lemony Penne with White Beans & Spinach
Adapted from The Healthy Apron

This is a fresh lemony pasta that tastes great and packs a healthy dose of beans and greens! Make sure you put the full half cup of reserved liquid into the sauce at the end. I thought 1/2 c would make it watered down, so I used 1/4 c and I can see that my leftovers are going to be drier than I would have liked.

2 1/2 c dry brown rice penne (your fave penne will do)
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c sundried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 orange pepper, sliced
2 handfuls baby spinach
4 green onions, sliced
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
juice of one lemon
1 tbsp tahini
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch black pepper

Cook your pasta according to the directions ~ remember to salt your water ;-)  Reserve 1/2 c of cooking water for the sauce.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and pepper and saute for 2 - 3 minutes. Add sundried tomatoes and spinach. It was at this point that I found 4 green onions tucked way back in my crisper, so I sliced them up and tossed them in as well. They were a wonderful addition!

Once the spinach has wilted, add the beans and pasta.

In a small separate bowl, combine lemon juice, reserved cooking water, tahini, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste. Toss with pasta mixture. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly.

Serve and enjoy ~ garnish your dish with a lemon wedge - it tastes fantastic with a fresh squeeze of lemon right before digging in!

PS - Happy Birthday to my sweet hubby. Yesterday we went out for dinner with friends. I got my Bellini. He got a Ceasar...or two. We even got to enjoy our dinner on a patio. Life is good.

Even the dogs got in on the birthday celebrations. Don't they look impressed ;-)

Have a wonderful evening!

Andrea