Meatless Monday: Pasta Primavera

The Wisconsin Test Kitchen was at a party a few weeks ago, and we mentioned to someone that we eat a lot of pizza, because it's an easy way to clean out the fridge.

"What?" Someone asked us with a really confused look.

"It's an easy way to get rid of a lot of vegetables," Kevin explained. "You can use fresh tomatoes, some mushrooms... pretty much whatever you have in the fridge. You throw it on a pizza crust and call it dinner."

We can't be the only ones out there that do this. Someone help and throw us a lifeline, here. 

We embraced this philosophy hard core a few weeks ago when we had a pasta primavera dish, which we ended up dubbing 'dump pasta': as in, you dump everything in the fridge into the pasta. 

This is a really forgiving recipe. For example, we were out of broccoli, so we used mushrooms instead. We also added a dish of black olives we had left over from pizza night, as well as some extra tomatoes. Like we said... forgiving. 

Pasta Primavera

Recipe inspired by:  http://wholeandheavenlyoven.com/2015/04/02/springtime-veggie-pasta-primavera/

Ingredients
1 lb bowtie pasta (or pasta cut of your choice)
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
2 cups asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2-in pieces
1 large sweet pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Instructions
Cook pasta according to package instructions, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute broccoli, asparagus, pepper, onion, and garlic in olive oil until veggies are just tender, about 7-10 minutes. 

Stir in spinach, peas, and cherries tomatoes and continue cooking an additional 5 minutes.

Remove cooked veggies from heat and stir in cooked pasta, 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water, lemon juice, and basil. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste and top pasta primavera with grated Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.

This is a great summertime dinner, it's full of bright, clean flavors; and it's an easy way to sneak lots of veggies into your weekly meals. The yield on this is so big, it was dinner, and lunch the next day. Bonus vegetables!!

Give this a try on your next meatless Monday; you'll be glad you did!

Stay Cool,

The Cool Dads Crew