Italian dinner a la Trader Joe's

The manfriend called for a meaty sauce yesterday when we were meal planning at Starbucks. So during our shopping trip to Trader Joe's this afternoon, I picked up the necessities.

We also attempted to mimic this amazing garlic bread we were drooling over on one of the Food Network shows. Ingredients included: olive oil, garlic cloves (an entire bunch!), basil, oregano, parmesan, salt and pepper. The show didn't specify amounts so I just kind of threw it all together and the manfriend carefully spread it inside our whole wheat baguette before baking.

Her version (with a few more pieces of garlic bread added later)

And his version (round 2, post broccoli consumption). Carb load it up!


We both enjoyed this meal, however the meat sauce was too salty for both of us. Because meat like this often has plenty sodium, I'd probably make my own marinara in the future with canned crushed tomatoes and spices.

The garlic bread was mighty tasty (and garlicky), but there's still room for improvement.

When I look back at all the ingredients for this meal, nearly everything but the broccoli and spices came from Trader Joe's. I love when that happens.

Our weekend went by way too fast, but it was nice to see some sunshine around these parts. Saturday we spent most of the day at manfriend's first road race of the season (50 brutal, windy miles). I even did my own brick workout including a 14 mile ride and a 3 mile run while he raced.

Sunday, I ventured off with the runners for 2 hours of trail running. I completed 12 miles, which is just what I was hoping for. Next weekend I'm hoping for a 14 miler. The legs are feeling surprisingly well today after such an effort. Perhaps the slower pace and cushion of the trail had a part to play in my recovery?

Do you make special Sunday dinners? I enjoy picking things that might take a bit longer to prepare and are flavor explosions in the mouth. It's also fun to have my sous chef to help with the preparations and general kitchen atmosphere. :)

Comments

We had some AMAZING garlic bread at dinner on Sat. night and now this makes me want to try a homemade version, too! I'd definitely go with less Garlic though, my stomach can only handle so much ;)

Sounds like a Fun & Active weekend over there!!
Amber said…
Nom nom, I LOVE garlic bread! So much!

Good job on 12 miles on the trails - I really need to hit the trails again soon with that 21 km race looming :S
That looks delicious! I am going to have pasta tonight most likely. I made a homemade marinara sauce when I made lasagna back in December so I froze the leftover sauce (which was super yummy and pretty easy to make). So I am going to add some ground turkey and serve it over some GF noodles. Haven't had pasta in a long time so am excited for that. :) It's not gallette, but it will be good. :)

I usually make big meals on Sundays. Actually, that is usually the only night i cook. The other nights, I get home too late from the gym and usually put in 1-2 hours of CFA studying so I just don't cook. I live on baked potatoes, canned soup, and leftovers during the week...
Run Jess Run said…
I love eating large amounts of garlic, but then I can never get anyone to come near me the next day...
liz said…
I can't wait to live with the BF again and cook during the week, right now it's eat out/eat out/eat frozen pizza... haha. I miss cooking!

That garlic bread looks a.maz.ing!

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