Blue Cheese Sauce Pasta

Most of my cooking days consist of "what can I do with what I have". I know, I try to plan for the week, but the BOGO sales at Publix always get me and I end up with more food than I need. So, I usually end up with the first half of the week planned and the second a mix of everything. I must say, I can get pretty creative!

Since Joe and I were leaving for Orlando this past weekend, I wanted to use up what I had on Friday since wasting food is a sin in my book. I needed to use the produce, therefore the spinach and mushrooms had to be used. 

And of course, the blue cheese crumbles wouldn't survive another week and I figured making it into a sauce was the way to go. I used almond milk, which I always have on hand, to give the sauce a creamier, more saucy, texture. I also added some lemon juice for oomph and Voila! 

The end result was heavenly! The pungent blue cheese along with the delicate spinach was the perfect combination and the lemon zest gave it a nice finish. This recipe would also work great with Gorgonzola cheese and pretty much any other vegetables

Serving Size: 2
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 5 ounces of whole wheat Fusilli pasta
• 1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup of mushrooms
• 1 cup of fresh spinach

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to boil and add your pasta. Cook according to directions on the box.
2. While pasta is cooking, mix the almond milk and blue cheese in a bowl. Next, zest the lemon and add the juice to the bowl. Save the zest for garnish for the end.
3. In a small frying pan, drizzle about half a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the mushrooms for a few minutes, until it's to your liking.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.
4. Once pasta is done, drain the water and move the pasta back into the pot. Add  a little bit of olive oil and stir in the spinach so that it starts to wilt. Pour in the blue cheese sauce and mushrooms and stir. Sprinkle with lemon zest and serve.