I don’t know about you, but thinking of something to make for dinner every night is one of my biggest domestic challenges as a newlywed. My precious friend Elizabeth has inspired me to be more adventurous and brave in the kitchen. She is a wonderful cook and such a good teacher. From the moment that she taught me what to do with fresh garlic (I had NO idea!), I have felt like just maybe I could learn to be a better cook. It is not that I don’t like to cook, I have just really always seen it as a chore and never put much effort into it when I was single. It was easy to have super simple meals most of the time. When I got married and was suddenly responsible for coming up with an idea for dinner – EVERY DAY – and making sure my dear husband doesn't go hungry, it suddenly became overwhelming. But over the past 10 months (can you believe it??) together Mike and I have definitely found our groove in the kitchen. We’ve gone from driving each other crazy in the kitchen to cooking together in harmony (well, most of the time anyways). I love that making dinner has become a fun way for us to spend time together. I am always on the lookout for new recipes and thought I would share this delicious recipe we tried this week from Real Simple. It is fairly quick and easy – perfect for a work night!
Rigatoni with Grilled Peppers and Onions
Serves 4
2 medium red onions, sliced into ½-inch thick rings
2 large red bell peppers, cut into quarters
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
12 ounces rigatoni
1 bunch spinach, stems trimmed or one 5-ounce package
1 cup grated Parmesan
½ cup basil leaves, thinly sliced
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high.
In a large bowl, toss the onions, bell peppers, oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Grill, turning occasionally, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into bite-size pieces.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and return the pasta to the pot.
Add the grilled vegetables, spinach, the reserved pasta water, and ¾ cup of the Parmesan to the pasta and toss to combine. Top with the basil and the remaining Parmesan before serving.
We cut the recipe in half – sort of, and used only one red onion and about ¾ the pasta. Skipped the basil all together and we didn’t add the reserved pasta water. I would suggest chopping the onion and bell pepper into large bite size pieces before cooking.
I love finding good recipes, so if you have a quick and easy one you'd like to share, please post it on your blog and leave a link in the comments. I’ll try to post a recipe on a semi-regular basis and hopefully we can all expand our cookbooks.
But most of all, I can't wait to hug this girl and see her pretty face!
Kitty riding the raft in the pool
Claire and Ron enjoying the sun
Moria and Jeff enjoying the shade
The Girls: Moria, Claire, Alison and Laura
