An Easy Pasta

So often we find ourselves with busier days than we'd expected, or maybe hoped to have.  In these situations, it's good to have a warm comforting meal at the end of those day when you look in the fridge and wish something would magically appear.

Ta Da!

Well with just a few vegetables and some pasta, maybe a stray slice of bread and some grated parmesan cheese you can create something very comforting.  The other night my husband said, something to the effect that I could make this more often as he dug into his bowl.

This is one of those without a set recipe.  I had an idea and went to the fridge to see what veggies I had.  Broccoli, cauliflower, and kale will do.

Then I thought, hmmm, I'm going to want some crispy, meat cheese flavor.   Just a little.  So I chopped up some Pancetta. Would you like a little meat flavor but dont' have any pancetta?  Just one slice of chopped bacon, some ham, or prosciutto would do the trick!

And made some yummy breadcrumbs.  Whenever I want some crispy breadcrumbs to cover some pasta or something.  I put a slice of bread in the food processor and mix that with salt, pepper, grated parmesan to please, and chopped parsley, if i have it.  This time I also added some flax seeds. NOTE - the picture below is finished, do not add the cheese until after you've browned the breadcrumbs. 

With parts collected, it's time to cook and assemble.  There are two pans here.

Pot One:
I started by putting the water on to boil for the pasta and vegetables.  For the pasta I actually used a Gluten Free pasta by DeBoles.  It was good, the Multi Grain Penne with rice, quinoa and amaranth.  I just figured out how long the pasta needed and about 4-5 minutes before it would be done, I put the broccoli, cauliflower, and kale into the same pot to lightly cook.

Pan Two:
While the water is heating and the pasta and vegetables are cooking, I set some olive oil to heat in a pan.  When it was warm I added the chopped stems of the kale and pancetta to crisp a bit and then I added the breadcrumbs  (chopped bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and flax seeds) and some chopped garlic to that pan to brown up.  If you are feeling decadent, add some butter to this mixture.  Mmmmm.

When the breadcrumbs are toasty, take off the heat and mix in the parsley and parmesan.  The beauty of no recipe is you can mix in as little or as much as your heart desires!  Drain the vegetables and pasta add the breadcrumb mixture and toss.

Bon Appetit!