Fall Harvest Pasta

I had this whole dinner planned. I researched recipes, wrote out my ideas, and eventually decided on an exact plan of action. The next morning, I was looking through the fridge to see what I needed to buy and realized the fridge was stocked…all with stuff I didn’t need. Not that I’m complaining, a full fridge is always, always a good thing. But I decided to scratch all my recipe research and start again. This time, I got smart and planned the recipe with ingredients I already had.

Out of frustration and last minute planning, this recipe was born! I’ll still be saving the other recipe I had planned for another day. I still kept with the Italian theme, just using regular pasta instead of spaghetti squash.

Switching gears, did you know Microsoft Word has an option to ‘read aloud’ your text? I used the function all the time, it’s great for catching editing errors! I changed to the free version of Word and it lacks this option. Go figure, the one thing I use all the time! However, I found a website that reads aloud text and I’ve been having way too much fun with it. You can change the accent the computer reads aloud. I’ve been using a British UK accent and it’s so funny to hear her review my text. Now, whenever I silently read it to myself I can’t get her voice out of my head! There’s your fun (or lame) fact of the day, now you can have error free text!

Getting back on track to pasta talk, I didn’t photograph this dish with an egg on top, but it might be 100x better if you top it with a poached egg! It’s not required but definitely recommended.

Fall Harvest Pasta

From north coast eats at https://northcoasteats.com/fall-harvest-pasta/

https://northcoasteats.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/fall.pasta-0025.jpg

Yield: Serves 3 people

Roasted butternut squash & carrots, with spinach, garlic, chickpeas, and pasta in a pesto sauce

You'll Need...

12 ounces butternut squash, peeled and cut in small cubes
3 large carrots, sliced
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
salt & pepper, to taste
1 can chickpeas, drained
12 ounces spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 pound dry pasta
4 ounces pesto sauce
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, thinly sliced or shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss squash and carrots with half the olive oil, salt, pepper. Place mixture on baking sheet. Bake 35 minutes until soft & tender.
Add the remaining olive oil to medium skillet. Heat over medium, add spinach and chickpeas. Cook 3 minutes, until spinach is wilted. Add garlic, cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat.
Cook pasta according to boxed instructions. Drain pasta and coat with pesto sauce. Make sure to mix, mix, mix it up!
Divide pasta, squash mixture, spinach mixture, and cheese between 3 plates.