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Spaghetti with Vodka Sauce and Other Ramblings

3/27/2019

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Let me start by saying this is most definitely not a food blog. But sometimes I come up with something so tasty I feel compelled to share. I’m also not a food photographer. It’s just real food, made by a real person, in a real kitchen.
This recipe comes with a background story. I’ve been home recovering from my double mastectomy for 5 days now and as you can imagine, I’m starting to get cabin fever. Especially since it was 70 degrees out today! I feel pretty good besides some soreness and bruising. There’s no rule that says I can’t leave the house, but the thought of going to the grocery store while I have surgical drain tubes protruding from my sides with clear goo-collection bulbs at the end sounds horrible and embarrassing.
I don’t know how soon I can get them removed – I have to wait until they both are collecting less than 20cc’s of fluid for two days in a row. Yep, I have to empty and measure twice a day. If it were cold out I could hide them under a bulky winter coat, but not the case today. Sorry – that’s not a very appetizing image, is it?
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Where was I? Oh yes… Since I’m not wanting to go to the store, and I’m getting bored with the meals I made ahead (I’ve had chili, stew, salad or a combination thereof every day since I got home from the hospital) I decided it was time for something new.
Sometimes I think the cooking spirits take over when I’m in the kitchen because I never know what I’m going to end up with when I start getting creative but I always end up with something tasty. Tonight I started with pasta and vodka spaghetti sauce in a jar. I’m sure it would have made a fine meal had I used just those two ingredients. But I raided the refrigerator and ended up with something a little more fun.
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I started with sautéing onions, garlic, mushrooms and asparagus. Normally I would add peppers but I didn’t have any, no zucchini either so asparagus would have to do. Then I added fresh basil & parsley (thanks to my Aerogarden that sits in the kitchen).
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When those were tender I added about 2/3 of the jar of sauce and just for fun – I added about 1/2 cup of Greek Yogurt. I’ve never put yogurt in spaghetti sauce before but I suppose it’s kind of like adding cream, only without all the fat. Plus Greek yogurt has 23 grams of protein per cup, so you really can’t go wrong there. ​
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I don’t normally combine my sauce with my pasta before serving but it just seemed like the right thing to do this time. Once it was combined I threw in a handful of fresh spinach then I topped it all off with some extra cracked pepper, onion & garlic powder and some spicy sprinkles. Spicy sprinkles are what my daughters call red pepper flakes. 
I must say, it was good! Packed with lots of green healthy stuff yet satisfying. And now I won’t  have to eat chili again tomorrow!
I do have other food in the house but I’m trying really hard not to eat too many packaged meals like soups, frozen pizzas, etc. I’m making great progress but still have few more pounds to loose (lost 14, with 15 more to go). I’m upping my caloric intake for a few more days while my body is healing, then it’s back to tracking my food and progress. 
I’m also happy to report that my swelling issue has been resolved and my eyes have finally stopped watering all the time! No it wasn’t the steroids, or the chemo drugs… it was the damn blood thinners! I finally convinced my doctors, well actually, it was the anti-coagulation nurse, that they were causing the problems. After getting, “This isn’t a known side effect.” for the last two weeks I finally got permission to switch to a different blood thinner. That’s good news!  But the bad news is the thinners they’ve switched me to are the shots I started out with. So I’m back to giving myself two shots a day at least until April 28th. But…I’m getting a little closer to normal each day. Now if I can just get these damn drains out, I’ll be set. 
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