Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Makes 2 generous servings
The hubster’s cooking repertoire consists of his steel cut oats breakfast, his lunchtime peanut butter sandwich, popcorn, Instant Pot cashew yogurt and blueberry snack and this pasta dish. When I’m too tired to cook or I’ve had a unusually busy day, he’ll make this for our dinner. It’s quite tasty and full of healthful ingredients. If I wasn’t around, he’d eat all of the above every single day. I like more variety in my diet (Ha!) He’s very proud of his pasta dish and so he should be. This is how he makes it…
Ingredients: (per serving)
Whole wheat pasta
Kosher salt or sea salt for the pasta water
½ cup Rao’s Marinara Sauce or Arrabiata Sauce or your favorite spaghetti sauce
1-2 Tablespoons Trader Joe’s Kale Pesto or your favorite pesto
1-2 canned sardines (This would add not only protein and Omega 3, but also calcium, however, it is totally optional and would not be vegan.)
½ cup Edamame (frozen is fine, no need to thaw)
1 cup Kale or spinach (fresh or frozen, no need to thaw)
¼ of a Bell Pepper (any color but green)
1 cup Broccoli (fresh or frozen, no need to thaw)
1 cup of any other favorite vegetables you may have: mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, carrots, green beans, peas, asparagus, zucchini, sugar snap peas, yellow squash, are all good options, just mix and match, pick and choose one or two
1 Tablespoon Vegan Parmesan Cheese, grated (optional)
Instructions:
1. Fill a large pot with water. Bring to a boil.
2. Put a large sieve in the sink for draining the pasta.
3. While the water is heating up, prepare the vegetables you plan to include in your meal and have them ready near the pot of water. (Chop the bell peppers, cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces, slice mushrooms, cut Brussels sprouts into quarters, chop the carrots, cut the green beans into bite-sized pieces, cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces, slice the zucchini and/or yellow squash, cut sugar snap peas into bite-sized pieces)
4. When the water comes to a boil, add some salt. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions.
5. Set a timer for 3 minutes before the pasta should be done.
6. When the time beeps, add the vegetables to the pasta pot.
7. During the 3 minutes that the vegetables and pasta are cooking, add about ½ cup of sauce in a bowl for each serving.
8. Add about 2 Tablespoons to the sauce.
9. If using sardines, add them to the sauce/pesto mixture and use a fork to mash the sardines really well.
10. When the 3-minute timer beeps, carefully take the pot to the sink and pour the pasta and vegetables into the sieve to drain.
11. Using tongs, grab some of the pasta and vegetables and put them in the bowl(s) with the sauce, pesto and sardines, if using.
12. Toss until the pasta and vegetables are coated with the sauce/pesto.
13. Sprinkle over some grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.
