Sunday, September 29, 2013

Recipe: Eating Healthier Made Easier With My Delicious Summer Harvest Vegetarian Pasta Dish!

Summer Harvest Vegetarian Pasta Dish.jpeg
Summer Harvest Vegetarian Pasta Dish

The recipe that I want to share is a great light dish to experience a harvest of nature at its peak as  flavors of fresh vegetables beautifully combine in a simple olive oil sauce with lightly browned onions,  jalapeno peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes served on top of a bed of homemade pasta noodles or whatever form of spaghetti you like. 

Besides my Summer Harvest Vegetarian Pasta recipe, I will give you my recipe for homemade pasta dough, which truly compliments that natural goodness more than any box can.  Of course, you don't need to make your own pasta for this recipe to work.  My recipe tastes wonderful with prepackaged pastas as well. However, homemade pasta is so much tastier, more filling, and thriftier than buying off your grocer's shelf. 

Making homemade noodles is easier than you think.  I like to use my food processor to assemble the dough and then a hand-crank pasta machine.  Once you get the hang of making your dough a few times, you will be able to whip up a batch in about thirty minutes from start to boiling your water to cook them up.

Feel free to add whatever vegetables to your dish your family likes.  Slices of zucchini, green and red peppers, garlic, or squashes are fantastic alternatives and provide extra color. 

I hope you try both of my recipes because I think you will love them!

My Summer Harvest Vegetarian Pasta

1/3 cup of olive oil
1 medium onion (1 cup finely chopped)
1 cup of fresh basil leaves or 2 tablespoons of dried basil
3 to 5 Jalapeno peppers or 1 medium to large green pepper (chopped)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons of salt
12 oz. of fresh mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
5 medium tomatoes (chopped in small piece)

Heat your olive oil and then lightly brown your finely chopped onion before adding your chopped peppers. 

Next, you add your sliced mushrooms to the ingredient mix and the basil.

Lastly, you throw in your chopped tomato pieces along the sugar and salt.  By doing so, you will not overcook them and preserve more of that fresh tomato taste and nicer texture.

Serve on top of your choice of my yummy homemade pasta noodles or store-bought. Either choice is delicious.


ENJOY!