Playful Pasta

Playful Pasta is the recipe I recently made up. I based it on a Blue Apron recipe that was really delicious, but it called for these canned whole tomatoes to make the sauce, something I am not a fan of. The reason it is called Playful Pasta though has nothing to do with Blue Apron and everything to do with a massive fail on my part.

A week or so ago I made up this new sauce recipe and it came out PERFECT. It was delicious. There was only one small problem. The fettuccine, a brand I have used for years, for some strange and cruel reason, didn’t cook. It was inedible. We didn’t notice this though until I had already plated everything, so I was forced to admit defeat, toss it and we went out for dinner on the way to Lowes.

The sauce was delicious though so I was determined to make it again. Instead of buying fettuccine, I just used the left over penne, rotini and bowtie noodles from my cabinet. It came out perfectly and it was so good my husband made me make it again last night with tortiglioni and bowtie noodles. I have made this recipe THREE times in one month. Shwoo.

So the reason I named it Playful Pasta is because the recipe does not really remind me of anything else and the multiple noodle types make it fun and pretty. Oh yea, and I’m seven.

Ingredients

☁ 1 Tbsp of Minced Garlic

☁ 1 Cup of Spaghetti Sauce

☁ Olive Oil

☁ 1 Cup of Chicken Stock

☁ 3–4 Cups of Mixed Noodles

☁ 1 Yellow Onion

☁ 1 Red Bell Pepper

☁ Spices (I used pepper, salt, McCormick Perfect Pinch Salt Free Garlic & Herb, and Herbes de Provence)

☁ Tbsp of Pesto (if you have it)

☁ 1 Tbsp of Butter

☁ 2 oz of Goat Cheese ( I use one that is Tomato Basil flavored)

☁ Shredded Parmesan (Optional)

Directions

1. If you have a cruddy electric stove like me you should start a big pot of water with a dash of salt now. Mine takes forever to boil. If yours does not take half a decade to boil you can wait until after STEP FIVE. Once your water boils add in your noodles and cook according to their packages. Be sure to pick noodles with similar cooking times.
2. Small dice your Red Pepper.
3. Heat a TSP or two of olive oil in a large skillet. It should be somewhat deep because you will be making the sauce in this skillet. Once the oil is hot, add in your TBSP of Minced Garlic.
4. Small dice your Yellow Onion.
5. Add your Red Pepper to the skillet. Season well. Cook your Red Pepper on medium heat for 2–3 mins and then add in the Yellow Onion. Season again. Cook everything, stirring occasionally for another 1–2 mins.
6. Once your onion and pepper begin to look soft, add in your 1 Cup of Spaghetti Sauce, 1 Cup of Chicken Stock and 1 TBSP of Pesto. Stir until it is all fully combined.
7. Drop your sauce to a simmer and stir occasionally.
8. When the noodles have 3 mins left add your 1 TBSP of Butter. Stir until completely melted.
9. Next, turn off the burner. Add in your 2 oz of Goat Cheese and stir to melt it into the food. Once your noodles are drained and the goat cheese is mixed into the sauce you are done!
10. When everything is plated…or in this case “bowled” you can add a sprinkle of Shredded Parmesan on top.

You can also make some home made garlic bread for this. All you need is some bread, butter, shredded pizza cheese mix and the McCormick Perfect Pinch Salt Free Garlic & Herb aka SPECIAL SPICE.