Sometimes all I really want is some pasta, don’t you? Well, you don’t have to sacrifice your health or diet goals to have some. I’m not a huge fan of Whole Wheat Pasta, so I bought Brown Rice Pasta (which I didn’t even know existed) at Trader Joe’s and we love it! It’s very flavorful and goes perfectly with the sauteed vegetable sauce.

What you’ll need

12oz Organic Brown Rice Pasta
2 16oz Boxes of Organic Grape Tomatoes – cut in half
1 Small Sweet Onion – thinly sliced
3 Cloves of Garlic – diced
1 1/2 Organic Orange/Yellow Sweet Bell Peppers – thinly sliced
8 oz Sliced White Mushrooms
2 Tbs Canola Oil
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Basil
Salt/Fresh Cracked Black Pepper – to taste

Directions

Cook pasta according to the box, but even though it says boil for 7-10 minutes, to bring it to my desired consistency it took about 15 – it was a little softer than al dente.

In the meantime, heat a large skillet with Canola Oil on Medium High heat. Add Garlic and saute until it is soft and beginning to brown – about 3 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Add Onions and cook together for another 2 minutes. Once the onions have wilted, add Bell Peppers, Mushrooms, Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, stir and cover. Once the Peppers have softened (about 5 minutes), add the Tomatoes, cover and simmer until the tomatoes have released most of their juice. The Vegetable Saute should be nice and watery so that it can combine with the pasta.

The Pasta should now be cooked and drained. Throw it into the skillet and combine with the vegetables. Top with Basil and serve with Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

What’s great about the vegetable sauce is that it’s really versatile. You can mix and match your vegetables and put anything you want in there, like Quinoa or Brown Rice. Sometimes I leave the peppers out completely or use Organic Canned Tomatoes, whatever I have on hand really. Normally, I make this a Quinoa dish, but it doesn’t really translate well on camera, so I don’t want to post pictures. What makes this dish special are the fresh vegetables and that it’s fast, easy, delicious, and nutritious. Adding freshly grated Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses would make this dish even more special, but it’s not necessary.

Enjoy!