Pasta with Brie, Mushrooms, and Arugula

If I had four words to describe this meal: Grown-up Mac and Cheese. I bet I have your attention now.

This recipe had some firsts for me. Cooking with Brie. Cooking with arugula. I had had baked Brie, of course, with crackers and arugula in salad mixes....but this recipe had me a little nervous. But I got a free container of Brie from Earthfare and I had mushrooms that had apparently been bought without a purpose. The first time I made it, I also had a yellow bell pepper that needed to be used so I sliced that up and threw it in with the mushrooms. A perfect addition. I was sad that I didn't have another one when I made it again the next night.

Yup, this meal was so good that it appeared two nights in a row. It was the whole, "well, I have another half container of Brie, mushrooms, and arugula to use anyway..." excuse. :)

Pasta with Brie, Mushrooms, and Arugula
from Martha Stewart's recipe database
Serves 4

• 12 oz penne pasta
• 1 lb. button mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (vegetable/chicken broth)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 8 oz brie, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 cups baby arugula

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot. I did this simultaneously with the other steps so that the pasta would still be hot enough to melt the cheese when the time came. Also, I used a vegetable pasta to amp up the veggie quantity. Sneaky sneaky.

The original recipe called for 1 Tb. of olive oil to saute the mushrooms in. Just fyi, this oil is very rarely needed. Especially with a nice, nonstick pan. It's a waste of calories in my opinion so 9 times out of 10, I omit it. (Unless the recipe needs extra calories and fat, which some do...but most don't.) So, I sauteed the mushrooms in a beautiful nonstick pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine, salt, and pepper and cook until the mushrooms brown, 5-6 more minutes. 

The recipe also called for onion. But I was lazy and didn't feel like chopping. I'm glad I didn't too. I think the pungency of the onion would've taken away from the creaminess of the cheese. 

To be honest, I don't know the rules of Brie. But we tried it with and without the rind. Definitely better (in my opinion) without the rind. So, I cut off the rind and then cut into 1-inch pieces.

Toss the pasta with the Brie and reserved cooking water, until the pasta is coated and the cheese is melted.

Stir in mushrooms.

Add arugula.

Stir until well incorporated.

Easy peasy! Seriously. One of the easiest meals ever. But it definitely doesn't taste easy. It has such a gourmet and grown-up taste. But even while stirring the cheese in, it smelled like mac n cheese! Talk about comfort food! Plus, the stats for this comfort food are right on target...

Nutritional Information (for 1 serving): 550 calories, 18g fat (10g sat), 4.5g fiber, 27g protein

I was nervous about it not being filling enough or not enough for a whole meal. Definitely nothing to worry about there. This was a very generous portion of pasta that was very filling...a great protein option for vegetarians! I was a little worried about how the arugula would go with everything. It was absolutely perfect...I can't imagine the dish without it! This one was so good, it made the list. Yup. The list.

In other news, my sister got her professional pictures from her wedding. They look fabulous!

the bridesmaids right before the ceremony

sisters ♥

the bridesmaids

bridal party

me & the bride

the bride & groom

I think the photographers did such a good job. Soo cute.

Lately I've felt so overwhelmed. Idk why. I just haven't been able to keep up with everything. The apartment is always a mess throughout the week and then I have to spend an entire weekend cleaning it up. I hate it. But I have no drive after getting home from work lately. Maybe it's the cold. ;)

If you follow me on twitter, you know that all last week I was trying to win a custom blog design from Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates. All that tweeting worked! I'm so excited! Her blog designs are always adorable and I had so much fun picking graphics and colors. So be on the lookout for the new design soon :)

Until next time...♥