Friday, July 15, 2011

Easy Fresh Healthy Summer Dinner

I planted the garden a little late this year, so right now I have tiny baby tomatoes, green beans, lots of baby squash and cucumber plants that are loaded with flowers. One thing that is going absolutely crazy in my garden that I typically have absolutely NO luck with...tomatoes! The past couple years we've had the worst blight...a fungus that turns the leaves yellow with little black dots and the leaves eventually dry up as it crawls up the plant. With proper precautions...our tomatoes are thriving...I've never seen so many before!

So, it was time to whip out as many recipes that match up with what we're growing. Last night, a recipe by Ellie Kreiger from the Food Network...a simple cherry tomato pasta. Fresh, easy, and oh so good.

I've got lots of these


and made lots of this


Cherry Tomato and Basil Pasta
from Ellie Kreiger

1 pound whole wheat pasta
3 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup basil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Boil a large pot of water. Salt and cook pasta according to directions. While pasta cooks, thinly slice 4 garlic cloves. Heat a large skillet with oil. Add garlic and saute for about 8-10 minutes until it is brown. (be careful...you look away for 2 seconds and garlic can burn!) Add cherry tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes until the tomatoes soften, but keep their shape. Once pasta is done, drain and add pasta to the skillet with tomatoes and garlic. Add about 1/3 of a cup of basil and half of the cheese. Toss and add salt and pepper. Place in a serving dish and top with additional basil and cheese.



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