Easy Veggie Pasta





 

 

I came across this recipe called rotisserie chicken and vegetables with noodles. Now doesn’t that sound good? It had diced carrots, chopped broccoli and shredded chicken. It had everything the title said it would. I was instantly inspired. So, I decided to head over to Whole Foods and try it out myself. I did end up making a few modifications to it, because honestly, you can add almost anything to pasta and it will most likely taste delicious.  I decided to keep the broccoli, but skipped the carrots. Not a big fan of carrots. I added bell peppers, yellow squash, snap peas, mushrooms, and onion. Instead of the fettuccini noodles, I used penne pasta. When it was all cooked, I tossed the pasta in Alfredo sauce and seasoned it with black pepper, red chili flakes and sprinkled parmesan cheese over top. The end result was quite good, if I do say so myself. My parents said they enjoyed it, as they went back for thirds. It’s definitely a keeper in my book.

 

 

Veggie Pasta

Time: 30-35 mins.

Serves: 6-8

 

 

Ingredients:

2 bunches of broccoli

2 bell peppers

2 yellow squash

1 handful of snap peas

2 packages of brown bello mushrooms

2 packets of Alfredo sauce

8oz. of parmesan cheese

1 16oz. box of penne pasta

1 onion

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt (to taste)

Red chili flakes (to taste)

Black pepper (to taste)

Cayenne pepper (to taste)

 

Directions:

1.       Boil water in a large pot. Add pasta and let cook for about 7-10 minutes. Add a pinch of salt to water. Once cooked, drain pasta and rinse.

2.      Chop up broccoli, bell peppers, onion, and squash. In a large baking sheet, place chopped vegetables and snap peas. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables and season with salt and black pepper. Place in oven at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

3.      Slice mushrooms. In a large skillet over high heat, drizzle olive oil and sauté mushrooms. Cook until they shrink and become golden brown.

4.      Add pasta and vegetables to skillet. Lower heat to medium and stir in Alfredo sauce. Add red chili flakes, cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste.

5.      Once everything is combined, turn off heat and sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and enjoy.

 

Suggestions:

-         Feel free to make modifications. For example, you could add carrots, shallots, zucchini, green beans, spinach, eggplant, cabbage, etc.

-         Also feel free to season it as you wish. For example, you could use marinara, teriyaki, soy sauce, or just salt and black pepper.

-         Cook the pasta al dente. Meaning not to firm or not to soft. Appealing to the teeth.

 

-     Rinse pasta of you're going to use it immediately or for a cold dish. For a hot dish, do not rinse.

-         This goes great with any protein or alone. I paired it with roasted chicken breast but you can pair it with shrimp, scallops, beef, etc. The list goes on.

 

What’s your favorite way to prepare pasta?