Easy Breezy Pasta

I saw a really simple pasta dish on the Today Show one morning and I modified it with items I had lying around my kitchen. This is the perfect dish when you want something new, light, colorful, or when you are just cooking for one. I made this one night and ended up with three different meals out of the leftovers.

Fire Level: yellow – red

Ingredients

• Your favorite pasta noodle (I prefer angel hair)
• Chopped bell peppers (vary the amount depending on how many people you are cooking for. Half a bell pepper for one serving, or one chopped green and one chopped red bell pepper for a more plentiful and colorful dish)
• Crushed red pepper (for orange-red spice, leave out for yellow)
• Minced garlic
• Parsley or Dill (Fresh is preferable but I used dry spice and it was just fine)
• Olive oil (also vary depending on how much you are making)

OPTIONAL ADDITION

I also added a little lemon juice and shaved Romano cheese to the finished product to give it an extra pop of flavor.

STEP 1: Sauté the Peppers

Heat olive oil over a large skillet. Use slightly more olive oil than you normally would for sautéing. You want the bell peppers to be coated well in the oil

STEP 2: Cook Pasta

Meanwhile, bring your pasta to a boil and cook it until al dente.

STEP 3: Spice it Up

Add your crushed red pepper and minced garlic to the bell peppers. Make sure your pasta is finished before you do this. You don’t want to cook the garlic too long. Stir the spices in with the bell peppers for just a couple minutes until the garlic is tender but has not turned brown.

STEP 4: Add your Pasta

Add the pasta into the large pan with all of your spices and bell peppers. Mix until the noodles are coated in olive oil and the flavors are all mixed together.

STEP 5: Garnish

Poor your almost-finished pasta into a serving dish and sprinkle with either fresh parsley or dill, whichever flavor you prefer.

Serve with some baked bread (I like the "everything" bread from the Walmart bakery) and a dish of EVOO, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and thyme. You're set for a yummy dinner!

LEFT OVER OPTIONS

Since I was cooking for one, I had a lot of pasta left over. The next day I heated it up with a can of fire roasted, diced tomatoes. This gave it a completely different flavor and was delicious!