Leek & Breadcrumb Pasta....

Yes, breadcrumbs!  I know this sounds odd, but this became one of Scott & my drop dead favorites the first time we had it (and we haven't had it in WAY too long:).  And since we had some extra leeks leftover from the 'vegetable pot pie' on Saturday, I thought they would make a perfect addition to the 'crumbs;) 

Now I'll be honest with you:  The first time we ever tried breadcrumb pasta, we used a Giada recipe that called for 2/3 cup breadcrumbs and 3/4 cups of oil ...and it was delicious.  But I think 3/4 cups of oil in ANYTHING is a little extreme for a week night.  So even though the oil makes the crumbs SUPER crunchy & very decadent, using a few tablespoons of oil also wields some pretty good results too!   

Breadcrumb & Leek Pasta

• 1 leek, diced
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• Olive Oil
• Grated Cheese
• Salt & Pepper

First, I sauteed the leeks in a few drizzles of olive oil until soft.  (be sure to thoroughly rinse the leeks!  They collect a lot of dirt between all of the layers)

Once the leeks were done, I set them off to the side and added another few tablespoons of olive oil to the pot.  Heat the oil for a few minutes and then add the breadcrumbs.

Cook the breadcrumbs over medium heat, stirring constantly, because those crumbs can go from tan to black in an instant!  You just want a nice toasty hue...

And once the pasta is cooked and the breadcrumbs are bronzed, to the drained pasta you add the cooked leeks:

...the 'crumbs...

....and a little grated cheese.

Wallah!  Breadcrumb pasta in under 15 minutes:)  Rotini was such a good shape for this dish because the breadcrumbs collected within all of the little spirals...

Simple ingredients, super easy with big flavors a good Tuesday night dinner makes;)

Andddd in exercise news:  Always beware the "Day 2" syndrome!  I could feel my muscles before I even opened my eyes yesterday morning.  Every single muscle in my arms, legs & back felt like they weighed 600 pounds EACH.  So needless to say my workout of:

Tuesday Morning:  40 minute Bethenny yoga

Felt. like. heaven!  Downward dog is one of the best "overall stretches" you can do, and when you are unaware of how much you ACTUALLY worked out AND found muscles you didn't know you even HAD:  well, it feels even better;)  But by last night, I was NOT feeling my usual 4 rounds of 12 rep. weights, so I just did my own mix of:

Tuesday Night:  12 reps of lateral raises (I look JUST like that lady under my clothes;), bicep curls, overhead presses, tricep kickbacks, rows + 50 tricep dips + 50 leg raises (on each side)  (OK..some of those pictures are just hilarious:)

MUCH easier to get through my own mix last night than having a video telling me what to do ;)  (not that I don't love my Bethenny) hahahahhahahahaha...oh well, that's what I was feelin last night...so that's what I did;)

Anyway...I'm out for the day;)  Enjoy your Wednesday!  You're half way there:)