I’m a big fan of easy and tasty dishes for two reasons. a) they’re easy and b) they’re tasty.

And sure enough, I found this recipe for Minestrone Pasta in a 1996 version of Betty Crocker’s Good and Easy Cookbook. Makes sense, yeah? I bought this cookbook when I was on vacation in Virginia last month. Chris found a cute bookstore down there, so while he went to the philosophy section, I harassed the cookbook section.

Ingredients

3 cups uncooked small-medium pasta shells

2/3 cup Italian dressing

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

Directions

I would like to point out that Betty Crocker simply said to cook the pasta and add the rest of the ingredients, but I found those directions rather lame. So follow these if you want soft and warm veggies and beans.

1. While the water for the pasta is boiling, lightly spray a skillet with cooking spray. Add the carrots and pepper and a dash of water. Put the heat on medium and put the lid on the skillet. Let the vegetables steam and get crisp-tender while the pasta is cooking. Sprinkle a dash of garlic powder and some pepper on the veggies as they cook.

2. Time the pasta according to package directions. In the last 3 minutes of the cooking time, add the beans and tomatoes to the veggies. Stir and put the lid on again to let everything warm up.

3. When the pasta is done, toss the veggies and pasta together. Add in Italian dressing and Parmesan cheese. Yumm!!

Another observation: For a healthier dish, use wheat pasta shells. Also, use fat-free dressing and cut the amount down to 1/4 cup. This is plenty in my opinion, especially if you mix some of your own spices in with the vegetables while they’re cooking.

So simple, right? Plus, it made a buttload of leftovers. So if I don’t update with another recipe for a few days, it’s because I’m trying to eat the rest of this pasta.

Enjoy 🙂