My go-to meal

This week has been a little crazy (I was in auditions/company calls three nights this week) and unfortunately our dinners suffered greatly because of it. But now is a three-day weekend and it was time to get back into some homemade, healthy, delicious goodness.

Mmmmm look at all that flavor.

This is my “go-to” meal. I love this meal; I love making it and it’s very tasty and filling. This was actually the first meal I made in which Alex didn’t “miss” having meat (and, a few months later, he’s a full-fledged vegetarian!) so I think we can call this the “veg-maker.” It also doesn’t hurt that it’s crazy easy and makes a ton of leftovers for lunch the next day, right? Perfect.

Recipe:
1 9 oz bag of spinach, washed
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), rinsed & drained
pasta of your choosing (enough for about 3-4 servings)
olive oil
salt
black pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)
oregano
nutritional yeast

Heat about 2 tbsp olive oil in a big sauce pan. In another pan, cook the pasta according to package directions (we often use a packaged pasta stuffed with mushrooms and cheese. It’s delicious. But you could use spaghetti, rotini, ravioli, …..whatever you want.). When it’s done, drain it. Add 1/2 of the spinach to the hot olive oil; Toss until wilted. Add the rest of the spinach. Once the spinach is all wilted, add both cans of tomatoes (I usually drain some of the liquid out first) and the drained chickpeas, along with salt and pepper (to taste), 2 tbsp nooch, about 1/2 tsp of oregano and a little less than 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, if you’re into spice. Stir well and let simmer until the pasta is done. When pasta is done, drain it, add it to the sauce, let it sit for a minute or two, and then serve. We usually grate a bunch of fresh parm on top, too.

I had to swat the cat off the table to get this picture...

If you eat all the pasta the first night like us, the leftover sauce would be really good over cooked brown rice. Next time I make it we’re going to use whole-wheat rotini and add some chopped mushrooms to the veggies. Yum!