Tag: aldi

Easy Pesto Pasta

I had every intention of getting a couple posts up this week, and I even had them all written! All I had to do was click publish. But then I got incredibly sick on Sunday night… and it lasted until this morning. AND I had a physics exam on Thursday. So obviously no posts made it up. But I still really wanted to share this easy pasta recipe, so here it is 🙂

Now that it’s warming up, I am SO excited to eat pesto all the time. I love pesto. And while it’s super easy to make, I am incredibly bad at keeping fresh herbs alive. Maybe this will be the summer I finally try to do it? But for now we’re sticking to the jarred stuff.

Thankfully, ALDI has really delicious jarred pesto, so I picked some up on my most recent grocery run. And I think last week I made pesto pasta 3 times. Excessive? Perhaps, but it’s delicious and it couldn’t be easier. I did a couple different variations throughout the week, but today I’m sharing the simplest version. Feel free to doctor it up as you see fit! Add whatever vegetables you have on hand (give em a quick sauté first, I love bell peppers, mushrooms, or zucchini), meat like chicken or sausage, or as much parmesan or mozzarella cheese as you see fit.

Also, I’m gonna be quite honest with you, I made this dish in the microwave because I had gotten home from night class and really didn’t feel like cooking. So absolutely no shame if you do the same 🙂

Easy Pesto Pasta

Serves: 1

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup of pasta, cooked (I had leftover from earlier in the week)
  • 1/2-3/4 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
  • 1-2 tablespoons pesto
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

  1. In a pan over medium low heat, toss the pasta and pesto and heat until warmed through.
  2. Alternatively: in a microwave safe bowl, add the pasta and the pesto and microwave until hot, about 1 minute.
  3. Add the quartered tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and enjoy!

Pulled Pork Pasta

I very loosely consider myself the queen of leftovers. I really enjoying having a bit of a “Chopped” competition with myself to see what I can come up with based on the leftovers in the fridge.

Last week I had about two servings of pulled pork left in the freezer, onions and garlic, and leftover pasta and crushed tomatoes (from my tuna and asparagus pasta). So I worked with what I had and made the BEST pasta sauce I’ve made in awhile. There’s not much more to say other than that haha so here it is, my pulled pork pasta sauce:

Pulled Pork Pasta

Cook time: 25 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients

  • 2 servings of pulled pork (make sure you have some grease)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/3 large can of crushed tomatoes
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Basil
  • About 8 ounces of pasta, cooked
  • Cheese, shredded (mozzarella, parmesan, etc.)

Instructions

  1. In about 2 tablespoons of grease from the pulled pork, sauté the onions and garlic on medium heat, seasoning with salt and pepper, until translucent about 7 minutes.
  2. Add the pulled pork and cook for about 7 minutes until warmed through.
  3. Add the tomatoes and season with red pepper flakes and basil to taste, and cook for about 10 minutes until steaming and thick.
  4. Add the pasta to the pan and cook until pasta is warmed through and everything has combined (get those flavors melding!)
  5. Top with cheese and serve!

Tuna and Asparagus Pasta

I feel like when most people see canned tuna fish they think either tuna sandwiches or tuna salad. But canned tuna can do so much more than that! I really like adding canned tuna to pasta sauces because it adds a totally different flavor than chicken or beef or pork but is still so good and so filling.

Last week I had canned tuna and some frozen asparagus so I threw together a quick pasta sauce. It was SO good and super easy and healthy too! Plus this is another recipe where you can throw in whatever veggies you have! I’ve made this same sauce before but with bell peppers and Cannelini beans, but you could also throw in zucchini or mushrooms or spinach. It’s so versatile.

All you really need here is tuna, olive oil, some vegetables, crushed tomatoes, spices, and pasta! And you’ve got a dinner that comes together in about 20 minutes and makes enough to give you lunch the next day.

A note: it can be really hard sometimes, especially as a college kid, to justify buying lots of fresh vegetables because they often go bad before you get the chance to eat them. ALDI has really awesome frozen veggies, so I generally buy half and half of fresh vs frozen veggies. And if you’re turned off of frozen veggies because you associate them with microwaved steamed veggies– they can be so much more! Just sauté in olive oil and garlic and salt and you’re golden. I cook all my frozen veggies like this and I promise, they’re so much better than steamed veggies in the microwave 🙂 Watch the blog cause I’ll probably post my veg recipe soon.

Anyway, here’s the tuna and asparagus pasta I made last week! Let me know what you think of it and what vegetables you threw in, I’d love to know what combos you like.

Tuna and Asparagus Pasta

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 2 (or leftovers!)

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • About 8-10 stalks of asparagus, chopped into chunks (or use vegetable of choice!)
  • 1 can white albacore tuna
  • About 1/3 size can crushed tomatoes
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Red pepper flakes
  • 8 ounces of pasta, cooked
  • Cheese

Instructions

  1. In a pan over medium high heat, saute the garlic and onion in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper.
  2. Add asparagus (or other vegetables) and tuna and saute for about 5 more minutes, seasoning again to taste.
  3. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook about 10 minutes until bubbling. Serve topped with cheese!
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