Zucchini Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Each week I'm getting better and better with running (today I hit a personal best!) and to keep the streak going I've been trying to focus on eating fairly clean. We're not going to talk about the pizza and pancake bites I had at the end of last week but a little 90/10 never hurt anyone.

Today was my first attempt at making zucchini noodles to swap for spaghetti. I was already using whole grain noodles but I love zucchini and thought if zucchini pizza crust is delicious then zucchini noodles were probably just as good. To make them you need a spiralizer, easily found at Bed, Bath, and Beyond or similar stores. Add in one of their 20% off coupons and mine only cost me $12. You can't beat that.

To use the tool simply cut off the ends of your zucchini, place one end in the tool, and twist. It takes a little bit of practice to get really long strands but short ones are just as good. I used three zucchini to make about four servings, you can use more if you need to.

In place of red sauce, which can be sugary, I made a roasted red pepper sauce. You can roast your peppers in the oven but I decided to really do it up and cook them on the charcoal grill outside. Once the grill is hot you cook them for about 15 minutes, rotating them until each side gets somewhat blackened. I also tossed on a few shrimp for some extra protein, marinated in McCormick's Island Woodfire Grill Marinade, found at any grocery store.

To make your sauce, start by peeling your peppers once they've cooled; you only need two. The skin should come right off. Then clean the seeds out and cut the pepper into strips. Toss into your food processor or blender along with one tablespoon of EVOO, two ounces of goat cheese, and one teaspoon of sea salt. Blend until smooth.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add in 1/4 cup of EVOO and saute half of a minced yellow onion and two minced cloves of garlic. Once the onion has softened add in your noodles and another teaspoon of sea salt and cook until tender. Coat in the sauce and cook until sauce is heated through, then remove to a serving bowl and top with black pepper, grated Parmesan, parsley, and extra goat cheese. Yum!