ZOODLE-MANIA at Ruthy's!!!!

First, I love to eat.

Second: I'm 5' 2.5" tall.  (That half inch is clutch, when it disappears I'll know I've begun SHRINKING!!!!! Eek!)

I write books.

You don't have to be a math expert to add this one up, so I'm always looking for low-carb ways of loving food without piling on weight because I don't want to give up everything.

I love ice cream.

I love baked goods.

But I have to be sensible, and then my daughter-in-law Lacey went on a fresh foods diet and I discovered Zoodles.

Zoodles are faux noodles formed with this:

Veggetti Maker

This dish is so simple, quick and delicious, you won't believe it...

Saute about 1.5 lbs. of sweet or hot Italian sausage until cooked through... chop into bite-sized pieces as sausage cooks.

Spiral cut 1-2 regular sized zucchini with the Veggeti magic machine!

When sausage is cooked, pour in a bottle of sauce.... I like this one, but I add a good sprinkle of basil, salt, pepper and garlic and Parmesan or Romano cheese..

Heat gently.

Add the spiral zucchini noodles, AKA: Zoodles.

Heat for about 6-7 minutes over low heat. You don't want to cook the zoodles too much.

Result?


This:

This is a low-carb, crazy delicious meal in a bowl.

Kav, you could do this with just the sauce and the zoodles and cheese, or add mushrooms for some extra depth to the sauce.

Dave loved this. I mean he L-O-V-E-D it.

And he's been working so hard on the farm, that it was nice for him to walk into the house and find food, because honestly, there hasn't been a whole lot of cooking time here. And that's okay, it's summer time, and we're all working on our tans...

Okay that's not true, we're just all working!

And having fun doing it.

On the writing side, "Her Unexpected Family" released two days ago, and I hope folks love, love, love this wonderful story... Who says a beauty queen can't be the girl-next-door?

She's got to be next door to someone, right?

And Franciscan ran a sale this week on "Refuge of the Heart", and it blew the numbers out of the park in baseball terms.... so that was marvelous to see!

And life on the farm is crazy busy, but it's supposed to be this time of year, and who wants to wish their summer away?

Not me!

I must show you this cover... I'm in this collection with Mary Connealy, Julie Lessman and Anna Schmidt, and we had so much fun writing historical novellas for CHRISTMAS! Christmas in July, for certain! This one releases this fall, in mid-October...

How pretty is this??? Love it! And what a pleasure to work with those ladies!

So what do you think? Are you brave enough to try Zoodles? Someone once told me spaghetti squash worked well this way. I tried it and didn't like it at all... but we both love this because the texture is very much like al dente noodles... and the taste is amazing.

Grab a seat, I've got the espresso machine fired up, and if you're in iced coffee mode, I'm your gal! I'd love to be your barista today!

Ruth Logan Herne is honored to write the kind of stories she loves to read, so that's a pretty great deal! With well over a million books sold and more to come, she's living her dream while surrounded by small children and kitchen fails like this:

It was supposed to be dirty rice with shrimp... well, it was so salty (my bad, oops) that it was inedible... and I was so hungry!!! Alas, there was no joy in Mudville that night!

And the hens are working overtime:

That's a lot of good protein right there!

Or pudding!

And that's it from upstate New York today!

God bless youse!