It all started back in 2019 when I was living in my college sorority house. We had lunches and dinners provided by our house chef Monday – Friday. That meant that Saturday and Sunday we were left on our own, rightfully so.
Anyway’s, we had a multitude of ingredients to work with in the fridge and the pantry. The only items that were off limits were the ovens and the stove top. That left us with the microwave and a little egg maker that one of the girls grandmothers donated to our house. (photo for reference)
Did you know you can boil noodles in a microwave and fry things other than eggs in an egg frier?
So I took what I had to work with and made one of the best D*MN pasta recipes to ever exist.
Before we get started, know that this recipe has been tweaked in a variety of ways over the years and has interchangeable parts. So, if there are any ingredients that you’re not in love with or if you think something is missing, you can easily take out or add in as you desire.
SERVING SIZE: 4
TIME: 30(ish) minutes
INGREDIANTS
Spaghetti Noodles 1 box
Red Bell Pepper, chopped2
Garlic cloves, minced4
Juice of 1.5 lemons
Butter OR olive oil 5 tbsp
Salt 1/2 tbsp
Pepper 1/2 tbsp
Parmesan however much your heart desires <3
AD INS
Spinach (add when you stir in the seasonings)
Red Pepper Flakes (add when you stir in the seasonings)
Mushrooms (saute with red peppers)
Shallot (saute with garlic)
You can really use any noodle you prefer, spaghetti is just my favorite!
HELPFUL TIPS IF YOU ARE COOKING FOR A DIFFERENT AMOUNT OF PEOPLE
I have cooked this recipe for 2 people, 4, and even a group of 6 one time! There are a couple of easy rules that I apply when changing the number of eaters…
– 1 bell pepper per 2 people
– 1 clove of garlic per person
– 1 box of noodles for every group of 4 or 1/2 every 2
– 1 tbsp of butter or olive oil per person + an extra for sautéing the veg in
If I were you, I would have everything chopped, minced, and measured before you start.
What do I need to cut again?
Chop the red bell peppers into little squares.
Mince your garlic (how to video linked if you don’t have a garlic press)
Cut 1 lemon in half, both of these will be squeezed into the pasta at the end.
With the remaining .5 lemon, cut into fourths as seen in the photo.
IF YOU ARE NOT USING A LEMON SQUEEZER… make sure to pop the seeds out of the lemons. It would be really embarrassing to chip a tooth on a lemon seed.
THE STEP BY STEP
Salt and boil your water. I normally add about 1/2 of a tablespoon in but totally your preference on how much salt you want to use in your pasta water.
As the water starts to boil, add in your pasta.
At the same time, begin to saute your garlic over low-medium heat in 1 tbsp of the olive oil or butter.
Once garlic becomes fragrant, about 2 minutes, stir in the chopped bell peppers and saute over medium heat uncovered. Sometimes I like to add in a little shake of salt and pepper when I am cooking the peppers but this is totally optional.
Stir the peppers occasionally until soft, about 10 minutes. If this finishes before the pasta softens, simply remove from the burner. No need to panic 🙂
Once pasta is cooked through completely, strain those bad boys. You do not want to cook al dente because there is no sauce they will continue to cook in and nobody likes to bite into a crunchy noodle.
Add the remaining 4 tbsp of olive oil over butter to the pan and follow up directly with the noodles. Then toss until coated.
Add in your seasonings (salt, pepper, red pepper flakes if desired) and squeeze in that lemon.
Again, toss until everything is even.
Plate your pasta, sprinkle some parm, squeeze a little extra lemon if desired and enjoy!
