Save More, Waste Less: Spaghetti Limone with Spinach stems

Prepare to have your mind blown: According to FeedingAmerica.Org Americans, at home, waste $54 BILLION a year throwing food out. And that's just 43% of the total waste when you add up anything outside of the home. All the while there are millions of Americans who don't know when their next meal is coming. While this is a subject I'm becoming really interested in, it is one I still need to learn a lot about, but for starters I'm going to be more conscious of how I control the waste in my home. For instance, I always feel really guilty when I chop up a bunch of veggies and end up throwing away half of what I bought because it's a stem or some bit that doesn't make sense to use in my dish. So the other day, after buying a beautiful bunch of spinach with long stems, I googled "what to do with leftover spinach stems" and up popped this genius idea: throw them into a pasta dish!

This idea solves so many things at once. For starters I've been wanting to take another whack at Frank Prisinzano's Spaghetti Limone (also follow him on insta, like NOW) and of course I always need an excuse to make/eat pasta. That, coupled with all the good feels over promoting sustainability and using those gorgeous stems while also sneaking in some extra veggies to my day. 'nuff said.

In addition to the spaghetti, I made a a few chicken thighs in the slow cooker yesterday that are becoming part of tonight's dinner. In the slow cooker I browned them and simply added some whole cherry tomatoes, capers, olives, garlic & white wine. They simmered away all day while I was out teaching and were done when I got home. For reviving these thighs I opted out of the microwave option as I thought it would totally dry the poor babies out, so I heated them up with a good old fashioned wine bath. That's right, I steamed those thighs right back to life with a splash of Sav Blanc. Voila!

Tomato Caper Chicken Thighs with Spinach Spaghetti Limone and Roasted Asparagus: