Here's a (somewhat) heathy, quick dinner that tasted pretty darn good, if I don't say so myself.
Pasta with some store bought stuff, cheesy-garlic bread and steamed broccoli.
I found this mushroom-olive mix in the deli section by the olive bar and thought it would work well in a pasta (it looked better than this picture shows!). It was like a chunky tapenade.I heated it up in a pan with EVOO, tossed in some minced garlic then the store mix
I had some homemade spaghetti in the freezer I could use. If you go through the effort to make homemade pasta...which it is not hard, just a bit time consuming..make plenty and freeze it portioned amounts.
Once I heated the deli mix and garlic through, I tossed the pasta in salted, boiling water...just needs about 4 minutes then right into the pan with the mix. It is very important you add the pasta TO your mix/sauce/whatever. The pasta with absorb the flavor and it all becomes one. If you simply dump sauce on a plate of pasta...well...boring. Also, save a cup or so of the pasta water...this help add more flavor and the water will assist in thickening your sauce.
Don't ask why...just do it from now on
Right at the end I added some fresh basil. I good way to do this is to "chiffonade" it...that is to cut them into thin strips. Why? Why not...it's the correct method to do something like this. Yes, you could just hack at it with a knife...or you could be more civilized and chiffonade away!
First stack up your basil leaves
Roll them into a cigar shape and slice thusly
And you have little thin strips
Add them into the pasta and gently toss a bit.
I topped it with parmesan-reggiano and served it with some cheesy bread and the broccoli
YUM!
