The other day I was chatting over on BlogToLose and the topic of food came up, of course! 🙂 Someone asked about freezing leftovers, specifically meat. I didn't realize some people where scared to freeze leftover cooked meat. I do it all the time! And actually the chat reminded me I had a chunk of cooked pork loin just sitting in my freezer. Not having anything in mind for dinner it came in REAL handy!

Pop it in the microwave, 2 minutes and viola! lean protein all ready to use.

I'm posting the idea exactly as I made. Now remember, you can use any leftover meat you have, chicken breast, lean cuts of beef, whatever. The idea is to really just make a quick sauce for the pasta while stretching one more meal out of what ever leftover protein you had from the night before. Or in my case the month before. :~P

Ingredients

4 oz whole wheat pasta (uncooked)
½ onion diced
1 large green bell pepper chopped
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes (I used petite)
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon garlic powder
About 5 oz leftover pork loin

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta and cook according to package.

While the pasta is cooking heat a large skillet over medium high heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the onion. Cook until the onion start to turn transparent and brown on the edges (you want the brown for flavor and we are going to deglaze the pan in a bit.)

Add the bell pepper, stir and cook for about another minute or two. The bottom of the pan should have some onion and brown stuck to it. Now add the can of diced tomatoes, undrained and stir to get all those good bits up. Bring to a boil.

Add the basil, garlic powder and cooked pork.

At this point the pasta should be done. Drain and add the cooked pasta to the skillet. Stir and serve! 🙂

I sprinkled with a bit of Parmesan cheese before snapping the photo. I'm doing nutritional information for 3 servings but you could make it 2 large ones at 8 points a piece. The picture is ⅓ of the recipe.

📖 Recipe