Happy Fall everyone!! I’m excited to write this post, as this is one of my favorite go-to recipes! There’s a lot of versatility to this recipe too. I’ve added ingredients from the original recipe to tailor this to my tastes.
The main thing I added was the pasta! I’ve been using spinach fettuccine, but there are a lot of options when it comes to pastas and their alternatives.
While the fettuccine was boiling (a quick three minutes), I gathered the rest of my ingredients. This recipe calls for bell peppers, so I used the usual rainbow (green, red, yellow, orange). I sliced them into strips then cut the strips in half. It also called for zucchini (surprise!), which I sliced into small discs and then halved. I also diced a yellow onion. I added all the veggies to a deep pan, put it on the stove on medium with some water in the pan, and let them start to cook. I use water instead of oil because it steams the vegetables a bit, making them softer. I also added some chickpeas to the mix. This was left on the stovetop to cook while I drained the noodles and warmed the pasta sauce. I really like Rao’s Tomato Basil! It’s well made and affordable. Side note, don’t leave the rubber-coated spatula on the side of the very hot pan for an extended period of time. It will burn. See photo.
The noodles go into a bowl, topped with the warmed pasta sauce. Once your veggies are done cooking, top the dish with them. I trimmed some fresh basil from my plant outside. I love basil. It’s not spicy or too strong.
Lastly, this is one of my plant-based dishes that I cheat a little on.  I add cheese.  Just a sprinkle of cheese adds even more flavor to this dish! I opted for a mix of Romano, Asiago, and Parmesan.  Quick note about cheese- I refuse to buy the pre-shredded cheese due to the cellulose added to keep the shreds separated.  I got this information from our wonderful friend (and Sadie’s mom-shout out out to one of my favorite kitties, Sadie!), Jennifer.  Thanks, Jennifer!! I now only buy block cheese and shred it myself.  It’s a little extra work, but so worth it to avoid additives and preservatives!  I eat this dish probably once a week.  It’s pretty easy to make and very healthy!
