Cook Once, Eat Thrice: Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Well it’s the start of another week, and that means only one thing… easy dinners for after a long day of work, play, or whatever you do! Besides who really wants to come home Monday night and start whipping up a gourmet meal in-between helping your kids with their homework, doing laundry, sorting out what it is you need to accomplish for the week, and prepare for Christmas… after all – that special day is officially 24 days away now! That’s why I really do love the Cook Once, Eat Thrice Series. If you’re new here, or have no clue what I’m talking about, the monthly series I create is aimed to cook one main part (the base of the meal if you will) in the crockpot, or maybe on a night when you have more time. Then take that base and turn it into 3 separate meals, each perfect for a family of 4-6. Yes, a meal… that ‘base’ will help you create something easy, homemade and delicious. Most of these 3 meals can be done in about 30 minutes or less. That’s the point! You feel better about what you’re putting on the table, and hopefully it helps you not pick up a pizza or drive through the closest fast food joint on your way home (again!). I’m not saying that I haven’t done that a time or two, the good Lord knows I have, but I always feel better if I can make a dinner in 30 minutes or less (and I typically feel more inclined to). If you’re interested in more then just Roasted Vegetables, make sure you have a chance to see the past editions of the Cook Once, Eat Thrice Series.

Now onto todays dish, the final recipe in November’s Roasted Vegetable series! If you missed it, you can go back and find The Base Recipe here along with The Roasted Vegetable with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette and Roasted Vegetable Soup recipes. Both of those were huge successes in our house. Today I’m brining you Roasted Vegetable Pasta!

The Ingredients:

• 4 cups Roasted Vegetables
• 1 1/2 cans (898 mL) on tomato sauce
• 1 can (898 mL) of Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• 1/2 cup parmesan flakes
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup half & half light (light cream).
• Olive Oil
• 1 lb of short pasta (I used Fusilli)

The How-To:

1. In a medium sized sauce pan, over medium heat add a splash of olive oil. Add garlic and onions and sauté.
2. In a large pot, boil pasta as per directions.
3. Add tomato sauce, fire roasted, and tomatoes. Cook until bubbling.
4. Add cream and parmesan flakes storing until everything is bubbling an cooked through.
5. Now here are your options:
   1. You can add the roasted vegetables and continue to cook (as they are in chunks)
   2. OR you can add the roasted vegetables and using an immersion blender, puree the sauce.
6. Let sauce simmer for about 20 minutes.
7. You can then add cooked and drained pasta into sauce, OR you can add your pasta on your plate or bowl and top with sauce. Sprinkle a little more parmesan over and serve warm!

You could always add a grilled chicken breast or crumbled sausage to this if you wanted to add a meat element to this, but the potatoes, turnips, sweet potatoes and other vegetables really do make this a filling dish.

Using roasted vegetables was a bit of a challenge (in a good way) this month. I liked that I created meals that you could use as sides, or as main dishes. And each recipe can be adapted to suit your tastes. For example, you could serve the Roasted Vegetable Soup for lunch, with a side sandwich or salad. It was perfect for my kids on their school lunches and the thermoses came back empty! The Roasted Vegetables with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette would be an amazing side dish on your table this Christmas, or even take the vinaigrette recipe and use over any roasted vegetables left over after Thanksgiving or Christmas. It was really fun to push myself and really think about creative (and edible) ways to use the roasted vegetables!

December’s series is in the works as we speak, and I have already taste tested a few of them out on my family (with the nod to go ahead and publish from the girls)! Plus we can’t forget there is another post coming from myself with my fellow #FoodieMamas! I’m so excited to share all of this (and more!) with you!

Thank you so much for stopping in today! As always, I really do appreciate that you stopped by today. If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to let me know! To find out what’s happening FIRST in the Fuchsia Freezer kitchen, you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!

Cheers xo

Related posts:

Roasted Vegetable Soup Cook Once, Eat Thrice: Roasted Vegetables with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Cook Once Eat Thrice: Italian Chicken Nachos Cook Once, Eat Thrice: Top Sirloin Potato Skins